Circle Of Life
by Nobel Grace
Summary: Meredith finds new ways to coop with her constant disappointment, while Lexie and Alex struggle to keep their marriage together. How will the family survive the constant drama when their main foundation is about to break apart.
1. Prologue

A/N: I wrote this story a long time ago, not for fan fiction, but I decided that I would add it to fan fiction. Of course I've tweaked it a bit, but it's pretty much the same general outline. I will update this story in between chapters of Traveling Solider…

-Thanks

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Meredith was a small child, with light blue eyes and light brown hair, which turned blonde in the summer. She grew up in Newcastle, Ontario, in a small farmhouse that just fit her family. They were a family that was very involved in the community, attended church every Sunday morning and did volunteer work at all the summer fairs. They were a very close family and had a lot of friends around them. When Meredith turned 14 she decided that she wanted to be a doctor. At 16 she started looking into scholarship programs and the best universities that offer the type of schooling she needed. At 18 she drove out of her small town, looking back at her teary-eyed mother, her tall, strong and brave father, her two sisters, Lexie and Molly, and her brother George, ready to start her life. She had managed to keep her grades exceptionally high and with her volunteer work and her ability to speak fluent French, she was accepted into the Medicine program at Magill University in Quebec. Her first year was like any other freshman's; it was full of parties, underage drinking, one night stands and lots of studying. After she scraped by in her Bio-Chemistry class, she decided that it would be a better idea to find an apartment that was quieter that residence was on campus. Her second year she found a house a block away from Campus and moved in. That is where she met Christina Yang, a fellow med student and her now best friend.

Well into her third year at University, Meredith bumped into Derek Shepherd, who was a young surgeon, just graduated from University himself. He was attending one of her professor's lectures. It was her favorite lecture of that year, given by Dr. Richard Webber, who was the chief of surgery at the hospital, but gave lectures every other week. Derek was one of his attending surgeons and they seemed very close, just from the way Meredith watched them interact. Meredith had noticed him almost immediately. He sat in the third row, his black hair brushed back, slightly and his light blue eyes, twinkled with amusement at something the girl beside him had said. When Meredith passed him, to sit in her regular spot, in the front row, she smiled slightly and looked at him through her lashes, before pretending that he didn't exist and moving on to concentrating on the lecture. When the lecture was finished, Meredith always sat back and read over her notes while she waited for the room to clear. While she waited Derek approached her, sitting beside her and asked her what her name was. They got to talking, which led to coffee, then dinner and then frequent dates every week. Discovering that he was raised in Toronto had pretty much been the turning point in the relationship. After that, she brought him home to meet her family and they attended almost every family function together. When Meredith graduated from university 4 years later, Derek proposed and the two were married exactly a year later.

They lived in Quebec for 2 years, working together, partying with friends and living a life of care-free and bliss. When they decided that they both wanted a family they moved back to Ontario to a little town called Ipperwash. It was cottage country out there and they had only discovered the house because they went on a couple's vacation with Christina and some of their other friends. The closest town to them that had everything they needed was Grand Bend and it was a 15 minute drive. The house was closer to his parents than hers, but it wasn't a 4-6 hour drive either. They said good-bye to their care-free lives and settled into a life of peace and quiet. They worked together at the local hospital, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 5:00. Of course they sometimes had to work later shifts and even night shifts, but for the most part the trauma rate in Grand Bend was very low. So Derek and Meredith moved on to the next step in their lives…parent hood.

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Meredith raced down the highway, picking up speed as she got closer and closer to the house. She was trying her hardest not to cry and was desperately trying to remain calm. But tears poured down her face and she sobbed slightly, frequently brushing them away and breathing deeply. She had gotten the call from her sister Lexie right after dinner and left the house as fast as she could. Whenever something bad happened in the family they called Meredith. She was the oldest of 4 and the one closest to their mother and therefore she was the go to person. It was about an hour drive, if you followed the speed limits, from Ipperwash to New Castle and Meredith pushed the limits so that she wouldn't waste any time. Who knew how much longer they had?


	2. Meredith

Meredith awoke with a start. She sat up panting and sweating, tears rolled down her cheeks. She had that dream again. She wiped her face, letting her feet touch the floor and told her self to breath. She calmed herself down by telling herself it was just a dream. She looked around the dark room and saw the outline of the dresser that they shared, their television that hung overtop of the dresser. She exhaled a shaky breath and stood up. At the sound of the creaking bed, Derek rolled over and opened his eyes.

"Did you have that dream again?" He asked rubbing his face.

"Yes." Meredith whispered, pushing away the tears from her eyes.

"Honey, it's just a dream." Derek tried to sound reassuring, but this was the third time this week, and the millionth time she had had this particular dream.

"I know, Derek." She sighed, "I know." He could barely keep his eyes open, so she leaned across the bed and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to go for a run." She whispered.

"Right now? It's…" He checked the bedside table. "It's 5 o'clock."

"I know, but it's nice and cool outside and it will do me some good to run along the beach." She sighed again.

"Alright. Just be careful." He sighed, turning back onto his side. She smiled at him and grabbed her sweat pants and big Magill sweater. She slipped on a pair of woolen gloves, because it being April it was still very cold in the morning and even colder since they lived on the shore of Lake Huron.

She closed the back door behind her, purposely leaving her i-pod behind and skipped down the deck steps to the backyard. It was big enough to have three children and a dog, which was part of the reason for buying the house. Plus it had a gate that opened right onto the beach, so people could come over, go for a swim in the lake and then they could have a barbeque. It was the perfect dream. Now all they needed was a couple of kids and a dog.

As Meredith started off down the beach she let the dream hit her full force. It was a dream that she just couldn't seem to shake. Every time she dreamt that dream, it started the same and ended the same. The dream started off with a shopping trip to Grand Bend at Christmas time. Derek and Meredith would be in the car and she would smile at him as they listened to Christmas music on the radio. Then the next scene would be the two of them walking down the street, Derek pushing a navy blue pram and Meredith would have her arm linked through his. It was perfect! They would stop and look at the things in the window which she never remembered, and then carry on to the next store. All of a sudden it would start snowing, and a big gust of wind would knock the blanket off of the front of the pram. So Meredith would go and fix it, make sure that the baby wasn't cold. And faithfully every time she bent down to see the baby, it was gone. She would start to panic and look through the sheets in such a panic. Then when she looked up to Derek he would be smiling around her, and there would be a large group of people watching her. _"Derek! The baby's gone!"_ She would cry and he would start to laugh at her. Once he started to laugh everyone else in the crowd would laugh too. "Meredith, we don't have a baby." He would laugh. _"You can't have a baby!"_ He would say to her and then he would walk away, towards some other woman, wrap his arms around her and kiss her. Then Meredith would awake. She would be mad at Derek for doing that to her, and then deeply depressed at the loss of their child.

As Meredith pushed herself to run faster she started to think about when the dreams had started. As she looked back, she remembered that it had started right around Christmas time last year. She had been pregnant at the beginning of November, about 8 months pregnant. It had been their third time trying, their third pregnancy but hopefully their FIRST baby. She had told everyone that she was pregnant right off the bat, because with the first two, she was afraid that maybe that's what she did wrong. So everyone knew about her pregnancy. They all looked at her with hope and yet pity, for they feared just how Meredith would take losing another baby.

Her first pregnancy had been a long and trying time. She had tried for 5 months to get pregnant before she could. And when she finally did get pregnant she was so overjoyed! She never told a single person, except for her mother, until she was starting to show. The second week of her 5th month, she was rushed to the hospital with early contractions and their baby boy was born…and died in less than an hour. It had destroyed Meredith. She had locked herself in their house, staying in bed all day long and barely eating a thing. It was her youngest sister, Lexie's engagement that brought Meredith back to life. Lexie, at 23 was engaged to a boy from high school. His name was Alex Karev and the two had been dating since the ninth grade. Their engagement was a quick one and they were married in 6 months. This had taken Meredith's mind off of their lost baby and helped her to look forward to the future years to come.

Their second pregnancy hadn't lasted that long. Meredith was about a month when she found out that she was pregnant. She, like the first baby, never told a soul. Of course she had to tell them after she went for her first ultrasound and the baby showed no signs of life. There was no heart beat, no growth. The doctor had estimated that they baby had been dead for at least three weeks. The baby was aborted and Meredith went back into depression. She secluded herself from her sisters and brother and only allowed her mother and Derek to visit her. This time, what brought Meredith back to life was helping out at a youth center. This was a place that children came when they needed a place to escape. When they were in troubled families, or were having a hard time dealing with things that children, shouldn't have to deal with. It was a young boy, by the name of Jimmy that helped Meredith move on. He told her one day that his momma had so many babies that he could have one of them, preferably his sister Michelle, who was two. Meredith had laughed and hugged him, then went home and made dinner for Derek. Life goes on, and she just had to keep reminding herself that.

They lost their second son, a month before he was due. Her due date was December 5th and she had daydreamed about all the fun they would have that Christmas with a new baby to spoil. She had told everyone and therefore everyone had bought gifts. But when the baby started to kick frantically, she knew something was desperately wrong and rushed to the hospital. They did everything that they could to save him, but the baby's heart rate was under too much stress and he died while she was giving birth.

So here she was, 5 months later, running down a beach trying to erase her dreams and fight her fears. Her body was thin and muscular and she ran for miles and miles. But eventually, she saw a pink line on the horizon and knew that it was getting close to the time where she would normally get up and shower. She turned around and raced back to the house. She pushed herself, harder and harder, feeling the wind in her hair and the struggle in her body to gain as much oxygen as possible.

When she got to the gate she was sore and out of breath. She walked up the few steps to the gate and just as she reached for the latch she froze. She had heard something, like a whimpering sound. She started to panic, because to her she had thought it sounded like a baby and that told her that she was going crazy and that she might need some serious help. She stood still, held her breath and listened. She waited and waited but she didn't hear the sound. She exhaled, rolling her eyes as she reached for the latch and opened the gate. At the sound of the creaking gate she heard the whimpering again. This time she knew she had heard it. It was coming from the bushes that were on her right. She went back down the stairs and edged closer to the bushes.

"Hello?" She called, and then kicked herself because she sounded like an idiot. But at the sound of her voice the whimper came and it was louder. It was directly in front of her. Cautiously she pulled back the branches and peeked inside. When she saw the creature she gasped. It was the ugliest dog she had ever seen. She was a natural dog lover and cooed at almost every dog that she saw, but this one was…different. It was a tiny, pale grey colour, with very wrinkly skin that when Meredith looked at it she thought that Cruella De Vil should have thought of this kind, because it had so much skin. She shook her head in disgust with her sick sense of humor and bent closer to the…puppy. It had a tiny tail that was desperately trying to wag. She looked it over and felt her heart sink. The poor thing looked starved to death and it was shaking from the cold. It was ugly, true, but it was just plain cruel to abandon a poor puppy like that. Meredith carefully reached out her hands and picked it up. It yelped with surprise and attempted to struggle, but it was so weak that it quickly gave up. Meredith cuddled it close to her chest, so that it would get warm and carried it up to the house. She opened the back door and the lights were on in the kitchen, and some in the living room. She slid the door closed and walked into the kitchen.

Derek was leaning against the stove reading the paper and sipping a cup of coffee. He was wearing light blue jeans and a navy blue sweater. Today was his day off, so he planned on going into town today. Those plans were about to change.

"Hey, did you see in the paper that…What is that?" Derek asked, watching Meredith carefully place the puppy onto the counter. They stood back and looked it, tilting their heads, as if to get a better view of it.

"I think it's a dog." She sighed. The puppy's eyes were open and it just stared at them, barely moving. Meredith sighed. "I need you to take it to the vet today." She said grabbing a t-towel that hung on the stove and wrapping the puppy, gently, in it.

"You need me to what?" Derek snapped out of his own world and stared at her like she had three heads.

"Please Derek. I couldn't leave it out there to die! It was so cold and I'm afraid that it's sick or something. Beside's I need to know what to feed it." She said with a shrug. He stared at her, his mouth open, arms crossed with a coffee mug in his hand. "Derek please?! We can't abandon it!" He sighed with frustration.

"Meredith, if this is some way of filling the void-"

"Derek! Please don't start that. I found the puppy outside in the grass, shivering and starving. Even if we had a million children I would still take it in." She placed her hands on her hips and looked at the now sleeping puppy. "Just take it to the vet for me, please?"

He studied her face for a moment and then sighed. "Fine, but if it's going to be very expensive you can think again!" He grumbled. Meredith smiled brightly and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, babe!" She said, before leaving him with the alien dog to get ready for work.

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"Meredith, there's a call for you on line 3." Miranda said from behind the desk. She was this tiny round woman, who had a fiery attitude yet a kindness to her heart. "It's from Derek. He says it's about you baby!" Meredith stared at her somewhat stunned. She had no idea what she was talking about. When it hit her she smiled brightly.

"Thanks." She said reaching over the counter to get the phone. "Dr. Shepherd speaking. How may I help you?"

"I heard Miranda tell you that it was me, Mer!" She smiled as she pictured him rolling her eyes.

"So, how's my baby?" She laughed.

"That's sick you know that?" He teased.

"You started it!"

"Me? How?"

"With the whole…_filling your void_ thing." He sighed.

"Well?" She edged. "What happened?"

"Well… it cost me $200.00 that's what happened!"

"Derek, I meant about the dog. What did the vet say?" She said completely dismissing his issues about money. They had plenty of money to spare. So a little bit of spending money on a dog wasn't that big of an issue.

"It's a girl."

"A girl! Awww!" Meredith cooed into the phone and she practically heard Derek's eyes roll.

"Yes. A girl! She is approximately 6 weeks old and should still be getting milk from its mother, but we can start feeding her puppy food. He said that she just needs little bits of food about twice a day. Then he gave her some shots, and gave me a list of appointments that she has for the next two months. Plus we have to get her spayed too, which is going to cost us."

"But other than that she's fine?" Meredith said hopefully.

"Meredith…this is huge. Are you sure you really want a puppy right now?" Meredith looked at the phone.

"Derek, you're the one who is constantly telling me that once I stop thinking about having a baby that it will happen. That I need to find something to take my mind off of the baby. And now that I've found something you're wondering if it is the right time?" She snapped, but never meant too. She heard him sigh on the phone and knew she had won.

"Alright, we'll keep her. Besides she is kinda growing on me." Meredith smiled as she pictured Derek on the couch with the dog sleeping on his lap.

"I knew she would." Meredith lied. She hadn't thought Derek would be that easy to break. "Listen I have to get back to work."

"OK. Well, when you come home we need to pick out a name for her."

"I want to call her Bailey!" Meredith blurted out. Miranda's head popped up at the sound of her last name.

"What? Bailey why?" Meredith wasn't sure why she wanted to call her Bailey anymore. It was the first thing she had thought of and that was because she was looking at Miranda Bailey's name on the desk in front of her.

"I…um…I like that name." Miranda narrowed her eyes at Meredith and she smiled brightly back.

"Well…we'll see. Think of other names while you're at work." Derek said.

"Yea that's smart. Think of dog names, instead of helping a patient. Good idea Derek." She smiled into the phone, exchanged goodbyes and hung up. Miranda stared at her.

"Don't tell me you just named you're dog after me?" She snarled. Meredith smiled.

"Ok, I won't tell you." She said smiling as she walked away. She heard Miranda mumble something to her, but Meredith kept on walking.


	3. Molly

Molly jumped up as the buzzer rang on the stove. The appetizers that she had been preparing were finished and if she didn't get them out now they would be ruined. She had thought long and hard about what she would make for her guests and decided on sweet things. Molly had taken the culinary arts at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver, BC. Out of the 4 children, Molly was always the one to chose fancy, artistic things. When the children were forced to take music lessons George, Meredith and Lexie chose the piano, which was the easiest. But Molly chose the cello and practiced day in and day out until her fingers were covered in calluses. When they were supposed to decorate a get well soon card for their father when he hurt his leg, Molly spent hours upon hours cutting out tissue papers and pictures and adding stickers and glitter, whereas the others drew a couple of squiggly lines and a star or two and then they were finished. So it was only expected that Molly would want to something artistic and fun.

Molly worked long and hard to open her restaurant and keep it thriving. It took a year for the restaurant to start doing extremely well and when it did Molly felt like she was on top of the world. She was earning a lot more money than she had ever dreamed. But one day she awoke in the middle of the night to a call from the home invasion company. A fire had started in the restaurant and they were having trouble putting it out. Molly rushed to the store and cried when she saw her "baby" in flames. She sat on the curb crying and crying, watching the firefighters desperately trying to put the flames out. At 7:00 the next morning the fire was finally put out, but Molly was exhausted. She remained sitting on the curb, until a firefighter approached her. She had looked up into Owen Hunt's ash-stricken face with tired eyes and he looked back at her. He was going to give her the details on the building but when he saw her face, he knew that she needed a break and suggested getting coffee. She had refused at first, but with a little bit of persistence he succeeded in convincing her to a cup of coffee and a dessert. Now Molly was never one who was easy to please, so Owen had a lot of chasing to do while they were dating. They were engaged after 4 years of dating, but had a quick engagement. She had become Mrs. Owen Hunt and by that point she was make 3 times what Owen made. Of course this put strain on the marriage, but Molly tried her best to make Owen happy. He never ever had a wandering eye, for Molly was the perfect trophy wife, but occasionally Owen would lock himself in the study and stay up till early hours drinking. But every marriage has their problems and you have to work at it to stay in the marriage. And no matter what Molly had done everything she could to show Owen how much she truly loved him and how much their marriage mattered to him. Now that she was faced with a completely new challenge the only thing that Molly could think of to do was bake.

She pulled the tiny 2cm chocolate cakes out of the oven and laid them out on a big piece of wax paper. She took the chocolate glaze that she had homemade and poured a tablespoon of it on top of every one. She then grabbed a bowl of crushed peanuts and sprinkled a couple on top of them. When she was done she took the tray and put it into the fridge. She cleared up extra chocolate glaze and started on the next appetizer. She had decided to make her favorite appetizer, Bacon Crab Mushroom Caps. The caps of the mushrooms were filled with a mixture of crab meat, cheddar cheese and bits of bacon and then they were baked in the oven. It took 10 minutes to completely cook them, so Molly decided to make another tray. She liked to bake, but she baked excessively when she was nervous, and now she was nervous.

The doorbell rang just as the appetizer was finishing. Molly froze. Now was the moment of truth; the make or brake moment. She listened for movement from the living room but heard nothing. She huffed and then she heard the shower just turn off. Figures Owen is just getting out of the shower now, she thought. She sighed placed the tray on the cool rack and went to get the door.

She had worn her best outfit; a tight black dress with short sleeves and a low neck. She accompanied this with a pair of black stockings and a pair of size 6, Crete Jimmy Choo high heeled shoes. She let the kitchen door swing close behind me, and headed for the front door. She noticed just as she got to the front entrance that she still had the apron on. Molly quickly untied it and threw it down the laundry shoot which was just inside the front cupboard. She smoothed out her dress and checked her reflection in the 4 ft 2 mirror that hung by the front door. She nodded to herself and then opened the door.

"Hello." She nodded once to the girl who stood in front of her. Her dark hair was curled around her face and her eyes were lined with a thin black line and some mascara. She wore a light pink maternity top and black dress pants. She struggled with the car seat that held in her arms. Molly moved out of the entrance of the door and motioned for the girl to come in.

"This way please." She started off to the parlor, which Molly knew would make the girl even more uncomfortable and took pride in that. She girl stared, wide eyed at her as she opened the two French doors to the parlor. In the parlor was a giant brick fireplace that was always lit. There were two black leather couches that swallowed you up, but we never used, so they were still stiff. She sat down hesitantly and then sat on the edged of the seat, placing the baby beside her on the floor. She looked around at the expensive paintings and the high ceilings.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Molly asked, eyeing the girl suspiciously. She couldn't have been over 22, just a year younger than her sister. The girl shook her head nervously and then bent down to check on the baby. Molly wasn't stupid. She knew the girl needed to drink a lot of water. So while she bent down Molly went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of natural spring water and brought it to her, along with the chocolate glazed baby cakes. "Here!" She passed the water to the girl, startling her.

"Thank you." The girl whispered, gently taking the bottle never once making eye contact. Molly sat in the armchair by the fireplace and studied the girl. She was shaking slightly and never looked up past her hands.

"How old are you?" Molly asked. The girl looked at her slightly and then sulked.

"I'm 21." She whispered. Molly rolled her eyes and groaned inwardly. She was just a child!

"What is his name?" Molly motioned toward the car seat.

"His name is Jackson." The girl said looking fondly at the baby. Molly frowned at that name. It was so…common. Not that Molly had any interest in babies. She loved her little niece Lauren, but she never wanted to be a mother, for she was too committed to her restaurant and didn't have time for children. She had never wanted children and told Owen that from the start. But he had said he never wanted children either.

Owen chose that moment to come down the grand staircase. He was whistling away, like nothing utterly scandalous was happening; that nothing completely humiliating was happening to these two women.

"Mol, have you seen my red tie?" He called from the entrance way.

"We're in here!" She called, venom seeping out of her words. The sounds of his footsteps abruptly stopped and she could pretty much hear his thoughts from where she sat. Then he appeared in the doorway. His red hair was wet, but brushed in a stylish manner. His face was clean shaven and he looked presentable apart from his tie and his shoes. He looked at Molly and then his gaze drifted over to the girl. This was the first time Molly had ever seen them together, but their affair was obvious. She wouldn't look at him, her cheeks were a bright pink and he gazed down at her.

"Well sit down Owen. You're making me uncomfortable." Molly snapped. Owen jumped and sat in the armchair beside her.

"How are you Callie?" he said to the girl. She nodded, still studying her hands, not saying a word. Molly turned to Owen and he looked straight back. Guilt was all over his face.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm quite uncomfortable by this silence." Molly sighed crossing her legs and folding her hands. "I would like to see the baby, if that is alright?" She said with as much compassion as she could muster.

"Oh yes. Of course." Callie smiled down to the baby and pulled Jackson out of the car seat. He was a tiny baby in a light blue jumper, that had yellow ducks on the bottom of his covered feet. He had a little tuff of red hair on the top of his head and he was sucking on his thumb.

"He is lovely." Molly hated to admit. If only he had been a little bit ugly, then she would have been able to coop with this better, but she melted at the sight of the tiny baby.

"Thank you." Callie said, without a smile, locking eyes with Molly. This told Molly that she was genuine in thanking her and it could've been for a number of things. Like when Molly found out about the affair, she had kicked Owen out and told him to go and live with his whore. When she took him back a month later she had thought things would change. Then Molly saw Callie, working at a local grocery shop, with a growing belly and she almost fainted. She had sent Callie $500.00 every month since then to help out with her medical bills and whatever she needed. It was the only way that Molly could handle the situation. When the child was born, Callie had called Owen and let him know. But he hadn't told Molly until a month later, when she had asked about it. Any other woman would have kicked Owen to the curb and told him never to come back, but Molly loved Owen and could not seem to…BE without him. So she called Callie and told her to bring the baby and they would work something out.

"So, how is this going to work?" Molly asked cautiously, looking from Callie and the baby to Owen and back again. Callie looked nervously at Owen and then cleared her throat.

"I would like full custody of him, Owen." She said and Molly applauded her bravery. Owen stared at her for a moment, narrowing his eyes at her, and then study the baby. He was silent for a couple of minutes and then shook his head.

"No." He whispered. Molly looked at him shocked and then leaned forward.

"What was that dear?"

"I said no! No Callie. You can't take him away from me." Owen snapped. He stood up and went to the table that held the glass bottles of whiskey.

"What do you mean no?" Callie said, fear and anger mixed on her face, giving her an unattractive look.

"I mean no. I'm going to fight you on this one." Her face paled.

"You wouldn't…you're not going to…You cant take him from me!" She shrieked, clutching the baby to her chest.

"I can do what I chose. He's my child too." He snapped, without even looking at her. Molly sat in the chair, completely flabbergasted. She was shocked by Callie's outburst but even more shocked at Owen's sudden desire for his child.

"You cant do that to me!" She shrieked, tears pouring down her face and onto the baby. He started to stir and Molly was snapped out of her dream-like state.

"Ok, calm down both of you. There are other ways around this than fighting." Molly said standing up. "Besides your upsetting the baby." Callie looked at her, then slowly sat back down. Owen didn't budged, he just swirled his drink in his hands and studied the wall.

"What if you do joint custody?" Molly asked, looking at Callie then at Owen.

"No." Owen said. Molly rolled her eyes.

"Why not?" She placed her hands on her hips.

"Because…" Owen said.

"That's not an answer Owen." Molly said.

"Because we would be better parents than she would." He said turning to Molly and looking her straight in the face. His face was harsh, but his eyes showed guilt. Callie gasped at this and started crying.

"I am a fantastic mother!" She shrieked again.

"You wouldn't be if Molly wasn't sending you money every month." He snapped. Callie looked at him completely shocked. Even Molly was surprised. She thought she was being so discrete when she was sending Callie the money. "Face it Callie. You know perfectly well that we would be able to give him everything, to raise him and only give him the best. Where as you, being 21 and still in school will give him nothing but grief and what kind of childhood is that?"

"Owen!" Molly gasped at his harsh words and, if possible, more tears poured out of Callie's eyes.

"I am…Just because I don't have money doesn't mean I cant raise my child." She cried softly. "I love him and that should be all that matters."

"It's not enough Callie! You need money to raise a child and you don't have any." He sighed placing down the cup on the coffee table. "We can give him more love than you can."

"Owen, that's not fair." Molly sighed.

"Well it's true Mol, I mean, she is by herself. We are a married couple. This way instead of having a single mother, he will have a mother AND a father." He said. Callie looked at Owen with utter shock and Molly's heart broke for her.

"I will not let you win this Owen." She said glaring at him.

"We'll see Callie. But with you're funds its going to be hard to find a good lawyer." He glared back and she shook her head at him. She quickly placed the baby in the car seat and strapped him in. She lifted him onto her arm and stared at him again.

"I'll see you in court." She snapped, trying to sound threatening, but it was lost on Owen, who in reality really did have the upper hand. Molly walked the girl to the door, giving Owen a glare as she passed by him. At the front door she held the door open and stepped outside with Callie.

"I'll talk to him." Molly whispered. Callie looked hopeful for a moment and then shook her head.

"I just don't understand it." She said tears filling her eyes. "I don't want to lose him, but I know that what Owen wants he gets."

"Don't give up. We'll get down to the bottom of this. I will call you later with the arrangements and we'll try to work on the joint custody?" Molly asked with hope. Callie sighed and wiped her eyes.

"I'm fine with joint custody if he is, but I don't think he is." She said turning away from Molly and heading to the car. She stopped moving and turned back to Molly. "Promise me one thing though?" Molly looked at the girl with shock. She was about to go and talk her husband out of this, she didn't owe this girl anything but yet she found she was doing more for her than she should be. This girl slept with her husband and betrayed her trust and here she was asking for a favor.

"What is it?" Molly placed her hands on her hips and watched her curiously.

"Promise me that you will let me at least come and visit him." She sighed. "He doesn't have to call me Mommy, Aunt Callie's fine, but I just want to see him."

"Callie…for God's sake. Don't give up so easily! You want him to win, he'll win. Go home with your baby and concentrate on him, instead of yourself for one moment." Callie looked at her shocked. Molly didn't say another word. She just turned and went back into the house. Now it was time to sort everything out. Her job was never done.


	4. Lexie

Lexie sat in the dark nursery, holding the sleeping child to her chest and rocking slowly. She let the tears pour down her face as she gently rocked 2 year old Lynn back to sleep. They had gotten into another fight and it was all his doing this time. His loud voice and slamming doors had awoken the baby. She couldn't even remember what their fight had been about. It had something to do with Alex's lack of being able to help out around the house and then when she commented on it he freaked out. She replayed the scene in her head, over and over, remembering all the nasty words that he had said and how he looked at her with a murderous glare. She sat there, crying onto the baby's soft blonde curls and wondered how they had gotten like this.

-----

Lexie had known Alex since 9th grade and they had started dating in 10th. They had won couple of the year almost every year and the cutest couple award at Prom. And they were a cute couple. She was 5 ft 4, with short brown hair and bright hazel eyes and he was 6 ft with dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. They had always been together. He went to school for business, hoping to open up his own pub and she went to school for teaching. When they were in their second year, Alex got enough money together to open a pub and they moved into the little two bedroom apartment above it. They worked late nights and were exhausted in the morning and soon enough, it got to be too much for Lexie and she dropped out of school to help Alex run the pub.

After a year of pub working, Lexie had just turned 20 and only had her second year of teachers college and Alex was doing fairly well with the pub. He took her out to their favorite restaurant and then proposed to her. She was so excited about the wedding, and then being married that it was a rushed wedding. She got married Christmas Day and went away on her honeymoon for new years, leaving Meredith, Derek, George and Molly to manage the pub while they were away.

When they came back, Meredith's parents had invited everyone over for a family dinner with the newlyweds and wanted to hear all the news about the honeymoon. But what they were about to hear would please most, but crush others. When Alex and Lexie parked in the long driveway, they looked at each other, kissed for good luck and then walked up to the house. When they went through the doors there was a loud cry of happiness as the youngest sister finally came home. Lexie was pounced on by the women in the family, Meredith, Molly and their mother Susan, and Alex had hands thrust at him for all angles. The couple were ushered into the family room and told to give every detail, avoiding the private parts. Lexie looked at Alex and he smiled back. Then she turned to her sisters and brother, mother and father, and told them their surprise. She was pregnant. Molly squealed with happiness for her sister, and Susan stood up happily. Then the room went silent. Everyone turned to look at Meredith who was staring at the coffee table.

When she noticed that everyone was watching her she smiled brightly and kissed Alex, then hugged her sister tightly. Congratulations from Meredith and Derek had been awkward, but once that dissolved everything went back to normal. If anything Meredith and Lexie got closer because of her pregnancy and when little Lynn was born, Meredith was over all the time in the first couple of months to help out in any way that she could, which was normally pulling pints at the pub.

Alex and Lexie adjusted to parenthood fairly well. One night Alex would get up and bring a freshly changed Lynn to Lexie to be fed, while the next night would be Lexie's turn to get up and tend to the baby. Problems didn't start to happen until Lexie got pregnant again. Having one child in their small apartment was stressful enough, but having two. Alex couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the idea of having another child. When she had told him, sitting on the edge of the bathtub, the test in her shaking hands, he had frowned at her. She could tell that he was thinking about ALL their options and she wasn't about to abort their baby, just because it would add a little bit more stress to their lives.

When she told him that she was keeping it, Alex shrugged and walked away. That's when he changed. He let Lexie deal with everything that didn't have to do with the pub. When it came to Lynn, he was still her father. He would play with her and feed her when she was hungry, but if she was up sick in the middle of the night, Lexie would have to get up and get her. If Lexie was having a hard day, and didn't feel like doing the dishes Alex would bitch and complain until Lexie couldn't find the words to fight back again. Now sitting in the rocking chair, 6 months pregnant, awkwardly balancing this small child on her knee, Lexie knew that things had to change or else she would have to do something drastic.

She listened to the sounds around her. Lynn's slow, even breathing told her that she was fast asleep, yet she didn't want to let the child go. The sound of her raging heartbeat in her ears as she thought about how unfair Alex was being and all she had asked him to do was clean some dishes. She had gone out to get groceries and when she had come home, to clothes and toys everywhere and dishes still in the sink, she had lost it and started shouting at him. When she shouted, he shouted back only louder and normally won in that department.

So as she sat there listening, she froze when she heard footsteps approaching the bedroom. Maybe tonight would be the night where Alex would apologize first and make everything better. She started rocking again as the door handle twisted and wiped the tears from her face. Alex opened the door and let a stream of light into the room, shining it directly on the crib, completely missing her.

"Lex?" He whispered. She rolled her eyes. He knew that she was in the room, because the rocker made a swooshing sound.

"What?" She whispered fiercely back.

"I'm going out." He snapped.

"Fine."

"I don't know what time I'll be back." He said closing the door.

"Take a key, because the door will be locked when you get home!" She snapped as he shut the door on her. She rocked fiercely as she listened to Alex move around the apartment and pick up his keys. She heard him pause, before he opened the door and then he slammed it shut. She stopped rocking after that and let the tears really pour down her face. She sat there sobbing against the baby's head. When the baby began to stir she picked her up and put her in the crib, covering her with a baby blanket and popping her soother into her mouth. She quietly slipped out of the room and shut the door behind her. She turned on the baby monitor and went into the kitchen to clean the dishes that were still left in the sink. She filled the sink with hot soapy water and pulled up her sleeves. She grabbed a cloth out of the linen cupboard and started to wash the dishes, one by one, slowly making sure every mark was gone and that the dishes were spotless. She was in such an emotional state that she did it without even noticing and was surprised when she was finished. She looked around the kitchen and was satisfied at how clean it looked just by having a few dishes washed. Why was that so hard for Alex? Before she had found out about baby number 2 he would do the dishes voluntarily. Now he wouldn't even go downstairs to get the paper.

She went into the living room and groaned. There were toys everywhere, a stray shirt, empty beer cans and more toys. She quickly went around the room, picking up stray things here and there, and putting them away in their proper places. When she was finished she looked at the clock and saw that it was 10 to 11. She instinctively yawned and stretched out her sore back. She switched off every light and locked the apartment door, closed the blinds and grabbed the monitor. She walked slowly to her bedroom and gently closed the door behind her. The room was cleaned and tidy from when she had cleaned it this morning. As she undressed she caught her reflection in the mirror. She sighed with unhappiness at her 6 month pregnant belly, accompanied with a million stretch marks and a belly button that was popped out. She looked at her self from one angle and then another. Maybe this was why Alex had changed. She could feel the tears fill her eyes. She took a deep breath and pushed the tears away.

She got into her favorite pajama's given to her when she was pregnant by Meredith. They were pink checkered pajama bottoms with a light pink t-shirt that had white clouds on it, and fit over her belly perfectly. She tied her hair up into a pony tail and sat back on the pillows, grabbing her novel and thinking that maybe she would get some reading. Before she knew it she was falling asleep. So she turned the light off and closed the book, placing it back on the nightstand. She rolled into the middle of the bed and stretched out her sore back. Then she drifted off to sleep.

--------

Lexie awoke suddenly to a ringing phone. She checked the clock, which read 1:30. She listened for a familiar drunken snore and she never heard it. Alex wasn't back yet. She felt herself begin to worry, but then told herself that he was a grown man and could do…whatever he wanted! She didn't depend on him. She became aware of the ringing again and reached over to the cordless phone that was on the nightstand beside the bed.

"Hello?" She said groggily.

"Hey honey. It's me." Molly's voice sang on the other end. "I'm sorry. Were you sleeping?"

"Um…no not really." Lexie half lied. She had been having a restless dream.

"Why? Is everything ok?" Lexie had to smile. Her sister was the nosiest person you would ever meet, but she loved that about Molly. Meredith was the caring one and Molly was the busy-body.

"Alex and I had another fight." Lexie sighed, rubbing her face.

"Oh no. Again?" She sighed.

"Yes. I mean all I asked was if he could help me wash the dishes while I put Lynn to bed. That's it. I went to put the baby to bed and when I go out into the kitchen to make my tea and to take a rest, thinking I deserve a little bit of a break after chasing after a 2 year old all day and then getting groceries. But there he was sitting on his fucking ass, watching the television and all the dishes were piled in the sink. It was almost like there were more dishes in the sink, since I asked him. So I lost it."

"Oh Lex! Do you need me to come over?" Molly said, sounding genuinely concerned.

"No, it's ok. It's 1:30 in the morning Molly. I wouldn't ask you to come over here and do what? Sleep beside me like you used to do when we were young and I was scared."

"If you need me too." Molly said, stifling a yawn.

"No I'm ok Mol, but thanks." Lexie sighed.

"Well, I wasn't going to tell you, but I kinda knew that you had been fighting with Alex." She said.

"What?" Lexie snapped. "How?"

"Alex is here Lex. He came over to go out with Owen, but the boys just started drinking here." She paused. "I figured you might want to know that he's here."

"Thanks…" She whispered. At least she wasn't worried that he was dead anymore.

"Do you want me to send him home?" Molly asked.

"No! It's actually more peaceful without him here." Lexie sighed again; her eyes were feeling that too familiar heaviness.

"Don't say that Lexie! You'll regret it later. You know you will!"

"Yea well…I can't put up with this anymore. The constant fighting and how I have to do all the work. It's not fair. Especially with a new baby coming. I'm not going to do this for very much longer, I'll tell you that. And if he's at your house you can tell him that! Tell him he should be careful about how much more he wants to play this game, because I'm almost done."

"Oh Lex…"Molly sighed, but she knew that Lexie was at the end of her rope. She just wished she could help out her baby sister, and take away her pain and frustration.

"Honey, don't give up just yet. I'll make sure that Owen has a good talk with him and we'll get him sorted. Everything is going to be fine. Trust me." She said and Lexie could envision her sympathizing smile.

"I hope you're right Mol."

"I am…Oh I better go, the boys are here. Sleep tight and we'll bring him buy in the morning after I've sobered him up." She covered the phone and said something to Owen that Lexie couldn't make out. "Hang in there Lex. Love you."

"Love you too." She hung up and put the phone back into the charger. She slid under the covers and closed her eyes. She listened to the sound of Lynn breathing, sleeping peacefully. She felt the baby move in her stomach, and rubbed her hand over it. This was all she really needed, just the two of them. She didn't need the constant fighting and the added stress. She might end up losing the baby if she didn't do anything. She said a quick prayer that Molly was right and slipped back into her restless sleep.


	5. George

George walked out the front door of his parents 4 bedroom house and unlocked his car. He opened the front door and slid behind the wheel. He threw on a pair of black aviators and backed out of the driveway. He was going to be seriously late for his criminology course at the local college. He was study to be a police officer and was in his second semester of school. At 20, George was the laid-back type. He was the one who always left jobs to the last minute and then when he did do them they were half done, never fully completed. His first year of university he attended school for cabinet making, He soon decided that he was not meant to make cabinets and dropped the class. When he turned 19 he attended college again, for one semester and he took culinary arts, after working for 6 months with Molly, his sister. When he failed test after test he defiantly knew that he was not meant for the food industry. When he told his mother that he wanted to be a cop and that he was going to school for it, she nodded and gave him a doubtful smile. This caused a big confrontation between him and his parents, because both were hesitant to put money down on another school if he wasn't going to finish it. So George was forced to work for his own tuition and this gave George motivation to complete his education.

One thing that George did accomplish was obtaining a girlfriend, and this was a girlfriend that was beautiful, funny, charming and his parents loved so, basically she was perfect. Isabelle Stevens was a nurse at the local hospital. He had met her when he was 18 and he had broken his leg while car surfing, one drunken night with some of his buddies. She had been cautious of him in the start because he was 3 years younger than her and he could charm the socks off of anyone. She would visit him; sit with him, every day while he was in the hospital. When he was released and allowed to go home, she slipped him her phone number and told him to call her if he needed anyone to talk two. Three days later Isabelle came over and brought a basket full of food. Now two years later, George was madly in love with her and finally trying to start his life.

He drove fast through the small town and pulled into the college parking lot. He looked around at the students and watched them scurry nervously around to get to their next classes. He popped open the trunk and took out his bag. He slung the bag over his shoulder and headed off to his class. Thursday's were the only day that he had one class and that was criminology. So he would sit in a lecture for 4 hours and then go and visit Isabelle at work.

He slid into a seat in the middle of the lecture hall and took out his note pad. He normally didn't take notes, because he everything was on the internet these days, but today was going to be the day that he would give the topic full attention. When he had everything prepared for the lecture he looked around the room at everyone who attended this course. Something caught his attention at a door close to the front of the room, where the professor's office was. It was his Professor Mark Sloan. He was a tall man about 6 ft 5 and had graying hair. George quickly noticed that every chick in the room gushed at the sight of him and he over heard a couple of girls say that it was a combination of his rock hard abs and his misty blue eyes. Marl stood at the door, with a small red-headed woman, who wore a blue suit and held a brief case. He smiled down at her and kissed her lightly before she smiled and left his office.

Mark took his place at the front of the room and opened his laptop. George noticed a group of girls in the very first row, confide in each other and stare at the door with death glares. Then one girl, with long blonde hair and short mini skirt, coughed loudly and Mark looked at her.

"So, Mark." She sang, with fake enthusiasm. "Who's the lucky lady?" She twirled a strand of hair around her finger as she waited for an answer. George smiled with amusement at her stereo-typical blonde moves.

"She's my girlfriend." He smiled slightly, staring at his lap top.

"She's really pretty." The brunette in equally short shorts as the blonde's skirt said. The others nodded enthusiastically.

"She's really lucky." The blonde said and he smiled at her. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then smiled.

"Can you keep a secret?" he smiled at them and leaned forward. The girls smiled and nodded with a lot of enthusiasm.

"Of course." The brunette said.

"Secrets my middle name!" The blonde said. George shook his head at their stupidity and tried to advert his attention to something more interesting. But he was, for some strange reason, interested in this secret of Mark's. So he leaned a little closer to listen.

"Well…I'm going to ask her to marry me tonight." He said, nervously.

"AW!" The blonde cried.

"OH MY GOD! That is sooooo cute!" George shook his head. He would go crazy if Isabelle talked like that. They would actually sit back and make fun of girls when they encountered someone who talked like that. He smiled as he thought of Isabelle.

Before he had met her, he had a new girlfriend almost every other week and never once did he bring them home to meet his parents. When he had started dating Isabelle all he wanted to do was introduce her to his parents. When they finally did meet something changed in him. When he looked at Isabelle he looked at her through different eyes. It took him another 6 months and a conference with Meredith, Lexie and Molly too make him realize that he loved her. When he told her he had been so nervous that he had almost thrown up on her. Now he sat here, two years into a strong relationship, and all he could think about was what Mark Sloan had mentioned. He sat back and studied Mark. What made him so different from Mark? Maybe he had the right idea? He exhaled nervously and tried to focus on the topic being presented in front of him, but all he could think of was her. Maybe next Thursday would be the day that he really concentrated.

-------

"Mer, I need you to come home tonight." George said into the phone.

"Why is something wrong with mom?" She asked all of a sudden. George frowned.

"No, why would something be wrong with Mom?" He asked, listening very carefully.

"I was just wondering." She said her voice drifting. "I mean, you sounded so distraught. What's up baby brother?" Meredith teased.

"I just need you to come home. I need to ask you something." He said, playing with the phone cord.

"Ok. I'll be there for dinner. I'm bringing a friend with me ok."

"A friend?" George said nervously. "Meredith! This is important."

"Trust me…this friend is completely normal. She wont say a thing and you're secret will be safe."

"Meredith!"

"Relax George. I'll be there ok." She said. "Love you." And hung up.

George leaned against the counter and exhaled. Lexie and Molly were both coming and now Meredith. He needed to get advice from every perspective. He looked at the clock and wished he could make time speed up to get this over with. He hated being nervous.

"What's wrong Georgie?" Susan Grey said from behind him. She had light blonde hair, that George assumed was died, and it curled gently around her face. Her bright blue eyes twinkled and her smile could make anyone smile. Over the past year she had dropped a lot of weight and it had worried them, the kids. She had smiled sweetly and just said that she needed to watch what she was eating because women these days were being diagnosed with diabetes faster than babies were being born. So if it was her way of getting healthy, George stepped back and let her do her thing.

"Nothing Mom, just talking to Meredith. She's coming for dinner too."

"Meredith too?" She looked surprise.

"Yes. This is a full throttle GREY family meeting." He said, smiling nervously at his mother. She looked at him with squinted eyes, studying every feature on his face.

"You're not dropping out are you?" She said with a sigh.

"No mother! I'm not dropping out. This has nothing to do with school. It's about something else." Susan's smile dropped and she looked worried all of a sudden.

"What? What is this about?" She asked, looking somewhat bothered. George smiled.

"Mom, you'll have to wait and see until everyone gets here." She exhaled shaking her head, starting up the stove and getting ready to cook dinner. George rubbed his hands together and exhaled nervously. He nodded, telling himself that this was the right idea and then left the Susan in the kitchen to cook dinner.

------

"So what is this about, George?" Meredith said, sipping her cup of coffee that was served after their dinner of homemade spaghetti and meatballs. She reached down and picked up the sleeping puppy on the floor. When George had seen Meredith's "friend" he had rolled his eyes and teased her about bringing her dog. She came back with, well she's my baby. I couldn't leave her at home alone. She smiled foolishly and George shook his head. He never pitied Meredith for her lack of children. Yes he felt sad for her when she miscarried, but he was never careful around her because he knew that one day, when she was ready that she would have a baby. This brought George and Meredith closer because they were completely normal around each other.

Susan had just sat down and everyone was clearly tired of waiting for George to bring up the subject. He was so nervous that he had no idea how to bring it up.

"Well…" He looked down at his hands and studied them trying to figure out what the right words were. He looked into the faces of the women that he loved and smiled. "I am going to ask Izzy to marry me." He said. There was a shocked silence around the table and then an eruption of noise. Susan raced to the end of the table, where he sat and flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tight to her chest. Meredith was next in line to hug him.

"OH BABY BROTHER!! You're going to get married!" She cried.

"Aren't you so happy now mom that you can pawn him off onto some hopeless chick and not have to worry about him anymore?" Molly teased, giving George a hug. Lexie smiled from across the table.

"I would get up, but I think you've had enough people hugging you." She smiled and he nodded gratefully at her. He waited for everyone to sit down again before he would speak. But, like all women, he never got the chance to start.

"So, where are you going to do it?" Meredith asked. "Because you the setting helps a lot!"

"Well I think the when is more important. Because it could be really romantic in the winter." Molly sighed.

"It's romantic any time of the year Molly!" Susan sighed.

"What's you're plan?" Meredith asked leaning on her hands.

"Well…that's what-"

"You can have a summer wedding and that way we won't have to worry about freezing to death or wearing certain types of clothing. Because everyone knows you can't wear yellow in the winter and I just so happen to look amazing in yellow." Molly said, study her nails. Meredith busted out laughing and Susan rolled her eyes.

"What do you think Lex?" George said, picking up on the fact that she wasn't speaking. All three other women turned to look at her, giving her weary smiles. Susan frowned and Meredith prayed that she wouldn't discourage him.

"I think…well George if you feel like you want to marry her then do it." Lexie said smiling brightly and running her hand over her belly.

"Well, how do you know? That's the only thing I'm worried about!" He said.

"Well, do you love her?" Meredith asked.

"I think so."

"How you know though?" Molly asked and George gave her a frown. "I mean, what is love to you?" She leaned on one elbow, like a therapist would do.

"Well, I…I love listening to her when she speaks. She has an amazing laugh. I love the way her eyes sparkle in the lights and I love that she's so smart. When I'm in class I only think of her, and when I'm not with her I rarely think of anyone else."

"Besides yourself."Meredith mumbled and then winked at him. Susan reached over and tapped her arm lightly.

"Enough Meredith, he's being serious here."

"Sorry."

"Anyways…" Molly said, pulling the attention back to focus. "Will you love her in ten years?" Molly said. Meredith and Susan exchanged nervous glances.

"Yes." George said looking at her puzzled.

"Will you love her when she's got a round stomach the size of a water melon, stretch marks on her stomach, swollen calves and tired eyes? Will you love her even when her stomach will never go back to its young flat self again?" Molly said. Lexie leaned forward slightly, biting her lower lip.

"Yes." George said.

"Will you love her in 40 years when she is going through a different stage in her life and you are going through you're mid life crisis and a young thing throws yourself at you. Will you stay true to her?" Molly said, her own eyes blazing.

"Yes…" George was getting more and more nervous.

"Will you love her when she is old and sick, wrinkly and grey, when you cant have sex any more, because she's too weak and frail and you have to help her go to the bathroom, and wash her and feed her? Will you love her then?" George didn't answer. He just stared back at her. He had called his sisters here for encouraging words, not to scare him out of it.

"Molly, enough." Susan sighed, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Well, this is just the facts of life; different cinarios in the married life. He needs to have a least a little bit of knowledge of what's ahead of him." She said crossing her arms and scowling at the table. Susan shook her head and touched George's arm.

"Darling it's not all that bad."

"Yea George. You'll be fine." Meredith agreed.

"Oh Mer! You're always taking mom's side. You know that these problems are real! You yourself know the challenges of a marriage." Molly snapped. Meredith's face dropped and George groaned.

"Excuse me! But just because you're pissed off that your husband cheated on you doesn't mean you get to trash my marriage and speak of my problems. We all know of them and they don't need to be aired." Meredith snapped back. At the mention of Owen's infidelity, Molly's face dropped. She didn't think that anyone knew except for Susan, but now she knew that all of her siblings knew by the avoiding glances. She felt tears in her eyes. She hadn't cried about this yet, she had told herself she wasn't going to cry, but now she couldn't stop them. She fled into the kitchen and slammed the door behind her.

"Meredith! I told you not to say anything." Susan said, standing up and heading towards the kitchen.

"Oh Mother! It was bound to come out sooner or later." Meredith just rolled her eyes. Before the door was even closed to the kitchen, Lexie's phone rang. They looked at her and she shrugged.

"You not going to answer it?" George asked.

"No I'm here for YOU!" She sighed.

"It's ok Lex. I don't mind." He said. She frowned at him and then picked up the phone and headed into the other room. Meredith and George sat in silence for what seemed like hours, listening to Molly sob her sad story to Susan in the kitchen, while Lexie yelled at Alex on the phone in the living room. "If I had known the night would turn out like this I wouldn't have even made the phone call." George sighed, running a hand through his dark hair.

"Oh George. Don't be silly. We want you to get married. You are talking to three women, two who are completely emotional, about getting married and they themselves are having problems in their marriage." Meredith sighed, picking up the dog again.

"Do you think I should get married Mer?" He asked. She thought about this for a moment.

"I think you are very young." George sighed and leaned back. That was not what he wanted to hear. "BUT…I also think that if you know in your heart that you love Izzy, then marry her. But what Molly says is true. You need to consider these things when thinking about marriage. I don't think she wanted to scare you off, but just give you examples of what COULD happen, not what's GOING to happen." She said, reaching a hand across the table and patting his hand.

"I'm nervous Mer." He sighed. She had forgotten how young he was. 10 years younger than her made their way of thinking completely different, and in many ways he was still a child.

"If you are sure about this, you're nerves will go away and you will be absolutely certain that there is no one else for you." She nodded with encouragement and he smiled grateful that he had sisters to talk to.


	6. Vacations

Lexie plopped into the seat beside Meredith, to the best of her ability, and sighed deeply. Meredith, who was now alone after a call from Izzy, studied Lexie. She rubbed her face, her eyes were red from crying and she looked exhausted. She rubbed her slightly swollen stomach and leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes.

"Things are that bad then?" Meredith asked her, leaning forward on her elbows and watching her baby sister.

"Oh Mer. I don't know how it got like this." Lexie said, tears filling her eyes again. Meredith grabbed her hand and held it in her. "I mean, everything was…perfect. We were happy being a family of three. Now that we're a family of 4 everything's…gone to pot." She covered her face. "What did I do wrong?"

"Oh Lex…you didn't do anything wrong."

"You know what the worst part is; I was very excited for this baby. I can picture Lynn with a little sister, the two of them doing each other's hair and giving each other make-over's, like we used to remember?" She smiled through the tears. Meredith nodded. "I thought he would be as equally excited, but…he…he doesn't want this baby."

"What? That's crazy Lex!"

"No Meredith! He doesn't want the baby!"

"You don't know that." Meredith sighed.

"Yes I do. I think I know, especially since he asked me to get rid of it." She said, wiping her eyes and smearing her make-up.

"WHAT?" Meredith shouted.

"Mer, please. I don't want everyone knowing." Lexie looked towards the kitchen and they could hear Susan still trying to calm down Molly.

"He told you to…get _rid _of the baby?" Meredith whispered the last bit. She could hardly believe it. Lexie nodded slightly, thought about it and then cried even harder.

"I don't know what to do. I mean yes he's my husband but this is my child. My blood! This little person is half of me!" She looked at her stomach and rubbed it fondly. "I couldn't…" She looked up, "even if it means…div-"

"Don't say that Lex." Meredith ordered. "Listen, all you need is-"

"Look who's in here, baby?" Thatcher Grey said appearing through the dinning room door, with the tiny, curly blonde two year old. Lexie wiped her eyes quickly and Meredith let go of her hands.

"Hello Lynn! Look at you! You're getting so big." Meredith said getting up and holding her hands out to the baby. She looked at her aunt with hesitant brown eyes and then smiled and went to her. "How's my favorite niece?" Meredith cooed and Lynn smiled back.

"She's you're only niece." Thatcher said.

"Thank you father!" Meredith rolled her eyes. "It's nice to see you by the way." She kissed her fathers cheek and went back to her seat.

"How are things going Meredith?" He asked. He pulled out the seat beside Lexie and when he went to sit down he froze. "What the hell is that?" He snapped.

"Hell!" Lynn said. Lexie shot her father a dirty look.

"Dad! You know you can't say stuff like that in front of her." She said, rolling her eyes. "She's copying everything. Just the other day she said the…S-H-I-T word." She smiled fondly at the baby and Lynn giggled back, like she knew she had said a bad word.

"Well what is…this?" He said, picking up the grey sleeping puppy that was curled up on the suede seat. He held it out at arms length and studied it. The puppy squirmed to life and whined at the awkward position.

"It's a puppy father!" Lexie said, rolling her eyes and taking the puppy from his hands. She cuddled it to her chest, resting it on her baby bump.

"It looks like a wrinkly rat." Thatcher said, turning up his nose to them.

"She's actually a Shar-Pei. One of the most expensive dogs in the world." Meredith exaggerated, but he didn't need to know that.

"It's Meredith's new puppy. She found her outside their house." Lexie said snuggling the puppy, who pretty much cooed back. "She's very sweet. Here, just cuddle her and try not to fall in love with her." Lexie passed the puppy back to her father and he held it awkwardly. He held the puppy close to his face and looked into its eyes. The puppy stared back with bright blue eyes; its feet curled under its body and its tail wagging slightly. After two seconds the puppy licked Thatcher's nose and got really excited when Thatcher responded to the kisses.

"See I told you she was sweet." Lexie said as she watched her father cuddle the puppy to his chest, and wipe his nose. "Awww, look Meredith! That's so cute."

"Awww!" Lynn copied and Meredith laughed.

"You should get a puppy Dad. You're a natural." She said smiling at his frown.

"Don't even think about suggesting it to your mother."

"You know it might just be the thing to cu-"Meredith stopped dead when she saw Lexie give her a curious look and her father stare at her sharply. "Uh…it might be the perfect gift for her. Lift her spirits whenever she is down." Meredith recovered.

"That's what chocolates for, or so I have heard for the past 34 years." He sighed. He passed Lexie back the puppy, but looked at it longingly. Lexie placed the puppy on the table and it rolled onto its back and waited for her belly to be rubbed.

"Awww." Lynn said, reaching for the puppy.

"Lexie, not on the table please." Susan said, coming into the dinning room.

"Sorry. She's just so cute, and so small." Lexie said. She bent forward and held out the puppy to Lynn. "Be gentle honey. Very careful." Lynn reached her tiny hand to the puppy and touched it. She squealed with delight when Bailey licked her, and then reached forward to grab the puppy. She pulled the puppy's skin and tried to yank it from Lexie's hands.

"NO Lynn! That's naughty. Be gentle. Nicely…" She grabbed Lynn's hand and stroked the puppy, very gently.

"Awww." Lynn said, smiling a big toothy smile at her mother and then at her grandmother. All 4 adults smiled back at the small child. No matter what the situation was like, Lynn always made people smile and forget their problems. It never lasted for long, but it was good to get distracted for a moment. Molly sobbed from the kitchen and Susan groaned.

"Thatch, I need you in here please. She won't listen to me and you were always better at calming her than I was." She rolled her eyes to her daughters and walked back into the kitchen. Molly was the only child who favored their father. They all loved both of their parents more than anything, but Meredith, Lexie and George always felt closer to Susan than to Thatcher. Most people thought it was because of Molly's outgoing, creative personality that it just matched up to Thatcher's, where as the other children, were quiet and family oriented like their mother.

When they were alone again, Meredith turned back to Lexie. "You must have so much fun with this one." Meredith said, smiling brightly at Lynn. Lexie smiled and nodded. She watched her sister play with her daughter and got a sad, but good idea.

"Mer. I need a favor."

"What's that?" Meredith looked up at Lexie briefly.

"I…I…Can we come and stay with you?" Meredith's eye shot back to her sister in surprise. "Just for a little while. You won't even know that we're there." She said, speaking very quickly. "I'll help around the house and cook for you guys."

"Lexie you can't run from your problems." Meredith sighed. She would love to have her sister live with her again, but she didn't want to have Lexie using her and Derek to get away from her situation without dealing with it.

"Meredith please! I'm so tired. I need a break. It's not healthy for me being pregnant and for Lynn. She wakes up when we fight. Please?" She whispered the last plea through tears.

"Are you positive that this is what you think is right?" Meredith asked. Lexie looked at Lynn, who was sucking her thumb and starting to drift off. She studied her child for a couple of minutes, tears pouring down her face. She nodded sadly to Meredith and broke down.

"Meredith, I can go back there and pretend that it will get better. He told me to get rid of my BABY! How can I live with that? My husband hates me and won't listen to me. Look at me and tell me that I look happy to you?" Meredith sighed. Lexie was right, she was constantly miserable and she looked worn out.

"Ok, Lexie. You and Lynn can come and stay with us. But, let's look at it as a vacation, for Lynn's sake. You'll have to tell Alex." Lexie nodded and wiped her tears away. She felt a million times better.

"What about Mom? She's going to freak." Lexie groaned.

"Tell her you're staying at mine for a bit. No, I'll tell her. If she wants to freak, she can freak to me. I've got your back." Meredith smiled at her sister.

"Thank you so much!" Lexie cried again. Meredith shook her head. She did not miss the hormones of pregnancy.

"I'm here for you. I mean you're my baby sister. It will be fun having little Lynn staying with us. Derek loves having her around." Meredith smiled trying to ease the tension that was hanging in the air. She could tell that Lexie was thinking about how this whole thing would go over with Alex.

"When do you want us to come and stay?" Lexie asked, chewing on her thumb nail, which is what she did under stress.

"Well, why don't I stop by your house? I'll pack a bag for Lynn and she can stay at my house for the night. You can drive out tomorrow morning after you talk to Alex." Meredith said, hugging the sleeping baby to her chest.

"No, we only have the one car. And I don't want to be there all night, besides I wont sleep very well as it is."

"But you need to pack your stuff."

"It will take me longer to pack up Lynn's stuff than my stuff." Lexie smiled slightly. Meredith nodded.

"Well…we should go now." Meredith said, looking at the clock. It said 8:15. "So she gets a good night's sleep." Lexie nodded and stood, with sleeping Bailey in her arms and went to say good bye to her parents. She looked at her sister and for the first time in a long time she was extremely grateful to have Meredith for a sister.

------

"Her playpen is in the front closest." Lexie said to Meredith. Lynn lay sleeping in her crib, just as the packed her stuff.

"I'll put it in the car and switch over the car seats." Meredith said. She looked extremely uncomfortable and Lexie could tell she just wanted to get out of there. Lexie felt the same. She wasn't looking forward to fighting with Alex. But he was in the pub for another hour until his break, which he always took at 10. Meredith struggled with the playpen as she left the tiny apartment door and Lexie sighed when she was by herself. She looked around the messy room and decided to pack her stuff first.

In the bedroom closet she pulled out the two suitcases, one for Lynn and one for herself. She packed her favorite jeans. And her pregnancy pants. She packed extra pairs, in case they stayed longer than planned. She packed her make-up and her hair products, some photos of Lynn and some extra money in case of an emergency. When her bagged was packed she moved on to Lynn's stuff. She managed to get all of Lynn's clothes plus the monitors, her blanket and a couple of toys.

She searched the closets for extra bags and packed every single pull-up, toy, wet wipe and blanket that she could find. Then she went into the kitchen and packed every bottle, every "sippy cup" and plate and spoon. She sighed with exhaustion as she realized she had whipped through the rooms, to pack everything she could find, in less than 30 minutes. What she was avoiding were the piles of toys in the living room. Meredith stopped by briefly once or twice to take down the suitcases and bags.

As Lexie walked into the living room, Meredith burst through the door and collapsed against it. Lexie looked at her confused and she sighed.

"Alex…he saw me putting the car seat in my car. I think he knows. He threw a cloth down on the bar and stared at me. I'm just going to get the baby and…" Meredith slipped by, leaving Lexie to her thoughts. She started to panic. What would she say? How would she explain it without sounding like an idiot? Meredith wrapped Lynn up in a pink fuzzy blanket and cuddled her close to her chest.

"I'll go and put her in the car and wait for you…to…uh finish." Meredith said looking around. Lexie was suddenly embarrassed at the state of her house.

"This is my life. This is what I'm leaving." Lexie said holding her arms out. Meredith gave Lexie a sympathetic smiled and opened the door. On the other side of the door stood a fuming Alex. His dark hair was all over the place and his eyes were blazing. He looked at Meredith with the sleeping baby and shook his head.

"No. You can't do this!" He shouted, startling the baby awake. Lynn started crying and Meredith glared at him.

"Nice one." She snapped. She tried to sooth the baby, as she passed by him out the door. Lexie listened to the baby cry all the way down the staircase.

"You knew this was coming." Lexie said, bending down to pick up the toys.

"Don't even! You can't leave Lex!" Alex slammed the door shut. "Don't be so selfish."

"It's about damn time I started being selfish. I can't take your CRAP any longer! I've had enough. So I'm going to stay with my sister. It's a vacation." Lexie smiled slightly.

"What do you mean_ A Vacation_?" Alex snapped, following Lexie around the apartment as she picked up toys and soothers.

"It's what I'm calling our spilt, for the Lynn's sake. Besides it won't sound too bad, when you tell the regulars why I'm not around." Lexie sighed. She picked up the last toy and shoved it into the bag.

"Don't do this to me Lex." Alex said in a softer tone. "Don't take my baby away from me." Lexie froze and then laughed.

"That's rich!" She snapped, through sarcastic laughs. "Your baby! HA!" Lexie said gathering all the bags at the door.

"I'm her father! You can't take her away from me." Alex shouted.

"Yea well, you lost the right as father when you wanted to kill her sister!" Lexie shouted, feeling tears well up in her eyes. Alex looked at her shocked.

"You KNOW I didn't mean it!" Alex shouted back. She shook her head.

"Yea well you could've fooled me!" Lexie sighed and grabbed the bags, 3 in each hand. "I'm leaving and I'm defiantly not leaving MY baby…here…in this!" Lexie looked around the messy apartment. "Face it Alex. There's nothing you can do!" Lexie said. She looked him in the eyes and felt a pang of sadness. "Good bye." She whispered before turning to head down the stairs, making a less then graceful exit as she struggled down the stairs with 3 bags and pregnant belly.

-----

On the way home, Lexie fell asleep in the backseat, beside Lynn, with Bailey on her lap. Meredith looked in the back seat and sighed. Derek was not going to be happy about Lexie running away from her problems and Meredith giving in to this. He wouldn't say anything, but she knew he would be pissed.

They reached the house just after 12. Meredith pulled up and Lexie woke almost instantly.

"We can leave the stuff in the car and get it in the morning." Lexie said. "Lynn can sleep with me."

"No, no. I'll get it."

"Meredith, you've already done so much. We can do it in the morning." Lexie said, yawning. Meredith nodded and grabbed Lynn from the car seat, while Lexie got Bailey. It was easier for Lexie to carry the puppy rather than the baby.

When Meredith opened the door, Derek was sitting on the couch watching T.V. He smiled at her as she walked in and then his smile dropped when he saw Lynn. He stood up when Lexie walked through the door and smiled, slightly.

"Hello Lexie, what a surprise." He said more to Meredith than to Lexie. He hugged her tightly and she sighed.

"Lexie and the baby are staying with us for a bit." Meredith said. Derek nodded and pressed his lips together.

"I'm sorry Derek. I didn't even think of how you would feel about this."

"It's ok Lex. A pleasure." Derek smiled at her. "Where are your bags?" He asked and being Derek he completely brushed it aside.

"I'll get them in the morning." She said, stifling a yawn.

"Yea their tired. Here I'll switch you." Meredith smiled and passed Lexie the baby, while Derek took the dog. "The guest room has sheets in the cupboard. If you need anything at all, you know where everything is." Lexie nodded and headed for the guestroom.

"Thanks again Mer." She said, tears in her eyes. Meredith nodded and smiled. Lexie disappeared around the corner and Derek sighed. Meredith shrugged and smiled.

"It's a vacation!"


	7. Stolen

The downtown city street was loud and crowded with people and cars. It had high top clothing stores at one end of the strip, but as Molly continued further and further down the main street the buildings began to look older, dirtier and run down. Molly, along with all of her siblings, were taught to never judge a place r a person by their appearance, but Molly couldn't help but think of the types of people who lived in areas like this. She found the address that she was looking for and pulled into an empty parking spot outside the old apartment building.

She got out of her hot red mustang, which she had bought for herself when she celebrated her 5 year anniversary at the restaurant, and looked up at the building. It was old, maybe 70, 80 years old and was stained with water damage along the outsides. Some people had bed sheets in their windows, to act as curtains and some had laundry hanging from the windows. Molly sighed and went to the meter and paid for an hour of parking.

She went up to the solid black door and looked for her name. Torres was the third name down and she pressed the faded white button beside the name. She waited for about 10 seconds before someone pressed the buzzer and the door unlocked.

Once inside she looked around. It was a tiny front entrance with mailboxes lined along the walls and just enough room for two people to walk down the hall. There was a large winding staircase directly in front of her and the walls were painted a blood red. It reminded her of the bohemian days, where everything was so eccentric and bright and bold. She looked around for an elevator but didn't spot one. She looked up at the stair case and groaned. Why did Callie have to live on the top floor?

She climbed the staircase easily, but her heart beat picked up by the third floor. When she reached the 6th floor, the final floor, she was sweating a bit and needed to collect herself. She opened her large black leather handbag and fished out a mirror. She checked her hair and make-up, then clicked the compact shut and straightened out her cream coloured suede skirt and suit jacket. Then she knocked on the door and sat back listening carefully. A tall man, with a long untidy beard, wearing a soiled wife beater, walked by and gave her a whistle. She cringed at the sight and smell of him and prayed the Callie would hurry up and answer the door.

"Molly?" She said when she opened the door. Molly smiled brightly at her and clasped her hands together.

"Hello. May I come in?" She asked, being polite, but Callie could tell she was extremely uncomfortable.

"Sure, come on in. Sorry if it's…messy." Callie said. Molly slipped into the apartment and looked around. It was a very open living space, not very big but had very high ceilings. It had large windows with a view of the city below her. The room was a light green colour, with wood floors and a small love seat and arm chair covered with matching green seat covers. A small T.V was on the other side of the wooden coffee table and there was a small baby swing for Jackson.

"You have a lovely place." Molly said with sincerity. The pictures and plants and other little things made this somewhat shabby room look lovely and pleasant.

"Thank you. Would you like a cup of tea or something?" She asked nervously crossing her arms over her chest. This was when Molly noticed what she looked like. Callie's long black hair was tied into a messy pony-tail and she was wearing dark track pants and a blue sweat-shirt that had once belonged to Owen, but he told Molly he had lost it at work. Molly frowned at the sweater but turned away.

"I would _love_ one." She said with bitterness. Callie slipped past her through a small wooden door, which Molly had barely noticed. Molly followed after her and was shocked at how small the kitchen was. The room was just big enough to hold a fridge, a stove, a counter and a sink plus and a table. The microwave sat on top of the fridge and Callie would have to use a stool to reach it. It was a dull blue colour and had faded white flowers on the walls. The tiny wooden table, which Molly priced at $10 at value village, was pushed against the interior wall and had two matching chairs. There was a vase of flowers in the middle, which Molly could tell her fake but it added a touch, somewhat.

"It's so tight in here. Sorry." Callie said, clearly embarrassed by her situation.

"It's lovely." Molly lied, but she felt she had too. Callie passed her a mug of tea and set out a little glass pitcher of milk and a matching sugar dish.

"So…" Callie said taking a sip of her tea which consisted of one sugar and no milk.

"Oh right." Molly reached down to her bag that she had placed on the floor and pulled out a dark brown folder. She untied the string and pulled out a 20 page document. She placed her hands on it and stared at Callie. Of course Callie knew what it was, but Molly still needed to explain. "These…are well…they are Owen's terms." Molly sighed.

"I thought a lawyer is supposed to bring them by." Callie snapped.

"They are, but I suggested that I would. I think that…because there is a child involved we need to do this properly and carefully. I think talking through lawyers is so cold and that making this more of a personal visit eases the tension even a little bit." Molly explained. Callie nodded and took another sip of her tea, her eyes never leaving the paper.

"That was quick, eh?" She shook her head.

"What was quick?" Molly asked.

"How fast the papers were drawn up. Less than two weeks." Callie shook her head and crossed her legs.

"Yes, well…I did my best to change his mind but…you know Owen…" Her voice trailed.

"Once he has his mind set on something there is nothing that can stop him." She rolled her eyes and Molly choked. She kept forgetting that she had unwillingly_ shared_ her husband with this woman. "So what are his terms then?"

"I did talk him out of some things that he was suggesting before."

"Like what?"

"Like cutting you off completely. I think that is completely unfair to you but also to the child. He needs to know who his true mother is. It will only make him angry in the years to come when the truth is revealed to him." Callie nodded, a deep frown in her brows. Molly pushed aside the feelings of pity and guilt and continued on. "What he does want is full custody of the baby." Callie just nodded, for she had known that this would happen. "He petitions that the baby would be safer and better off with us, in our house, in a neighbour hood that is…well…safe." Molly said, looking out the windows and remembering what she had thought driving down this road.

"I can get another apartment, a bigger one. In a _safe_ neighbour hood." Callie snapped.

"It's not about that Callie. The social worker will be stopping by soon, if they think the baby will be better off with us there is nothing you can do." Callie's face dropped. "But if this happens we will let you stay with us, spend time with your son, even take him on vacations if you choose." Callie smirked sarcastically.

"Well isn't that nice. I get to have play dates with my son, who I carried everyday for 9 fucking months, who I bled and cried over for 12 fucking hours, and then ship him back to a father who only wants him because…well who knows why he wants him and a woman who has no ambition for children at all. No offence Molly, but it's plain as day that you don't want this baby or you wouldn't be helping me so much." Callie was standing now and leaning on the counter.

"Excuse me! Yes I have no ambition to give up my body, which I work very hard to keep, to a child who will end up telling me that they hate me in 15 years! But if a child were to come into my life I would love them with ever fiber of my being. You think that when your son comes to live with us I will be hostel and cold to him?" Molly was shaking with anger. "For your information I have already started thinking about making up a room for him, which is way more that Owen has done. So don't you dare say that I will not love your…this baby!" Callie sulked and looked away.

"Listen Callie," Molly took a deep breath and played with the handle to her tea cup. "I know that this is hard for you. I can see that. I don't know how you are feeling but I know that this situation is hard. I can not do very much, but I will try my best to help you."

"But why? I don't understand why!" Callie said, tears visibly rolling down her cheeks.

"Well…" Molly sat back and thought about it. "You took my husband from me and that killed me. But I'm not one for seeking revenge. I pitied you when I discovered your pregnancy because I know how my husband is. I don't want you to feel that pain of having something stolen from you. Especially your child." Molly said, holding back her own tears. Callie just stared back, not knowing what to say. "Anyways," Molly swallowed her tears and continued. "These are his terms. You are to read them over and underline anything that you have a problem with. You can go over it with your lawyer if you chose, but our lawyer would like a report back at the end of the week. So just get you lawyer to call ours. The numbers at the top of the page." Molly sighed and stood up.

"Thank you Molly." Callie whispered and Molly nodded her head. She walked through the silent apartment and out the front door. She didn't start crying until she was halfway to her mother's house.

------

"He's a good man Molly." Susan sighed as she stirred a pot of spaghetti sauce.

"Mother, have you heard anything I've been telling you today, or even for the past year! He cheated on me, destroyed our marriage. How can he be a _good_ man?" Molly snapped, wiping away a tear on her cheek.

"Yes, he did break your heart and put a dent in your marriage, but he is trying to fix it in his own way."

"How? How is taking a child from its _mother _fixing things?"

"Well…maybe he thinks that this child will bring you two together again." Molly sighed. "Honey, he still loves you. He made a mistake and you need to forgive him."

"If dad had done that would you forgive him?"

"Yes I would." Molly gave her mother a skeptical look.

You're only saying that to prove a point. If you were in my shoes you wouldn't say that." Molly said, playing with the handle of her mug.

"I love him, so yes I would." She sighed and faced her daughter. "If you truly love Owen you'll find some way of forgiving him and moving past."

"I have…forgiven him. That's why I'm trying to help Callie with her-"

"No Molly. You are fooling yourself." Susan brushed her daughters short, curled black hair behind her ear. "You are _helping_ this girl because if you were to have this baby live with you every day you would be reminded of your husband's infidelity and that scares you."

"I…I…" Molly was shocked at how her mother knew this. "I would still love him."

"Yes I don't doubt that you would. You have the mothering gene. I see it when you play with Lynn, but I also know that you would hold back on your ability to love this child because you can't forgive Owen." Molly sighed and looked away. "Molly, you need to find someway. Talk to Owen about it. Maybe when you talk to him you'll find a way to help this girl keep her baby for the right reason and not for your reason."

"I will." Molly sighed. "But I know that Owen wants this baby. For some strange reason he wants this baby more than anything and he has never even held him." Susan stared at her daughter. She shook her head with disbelief and then sighed with frustration.

"Then you better start preparing a room for the little boy." Susan said turning back to the stove. Molly's face dropped and she stared at her mothers back. How could her mother not understand?

-------

Susan watched her daughter pull out of the driveway and shook her head. She sighed and turned back to the house. When she opened the door Thatcher was leaning against the door watching her.

"What happened?" he asked her.

"She's not very bright that girl." Susan said, brushing past her husband to go back to the kitchen. She heard him chuckle and follow her.

"Don't say that Sue, she's very smart. Look at how well she's doing with the industry."

"Sure, she's _book _smart, but she's so…self centered. I mean I pretty much _told _her what she needed to do and she shrugged it off like it had been useless, only focusing on the fact that Owen wants the baby. She never stops to actually think about a situation from all sides." She turned to her husband. "She gets that from you!" She teased.

"Uncalled for." He smiled brightly at her and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Molly is a smart girl. She'll pull through this. Sure she'll get bumps and bruises along the way but she'll heal herself in no time. I'm not too worried about Molly." He held his wife tighter. "I worried about Alexandra." He sighed and Susan nodded into his chest.

"Me too." She sighed. "I don't know how to fix Lexie's problem."

"Honey, you're not supposed to fix everything. They are adults now. We just need to be there for her when, or if things get a lot worse than they already are." He said rubbing her arms gently. She nodded and looked out the kitchen window. Even though she knew that she couldn't fix it, she desperately wanted too. She sighed again, feeling extremely tired all of a sudden.

"I'm going to lie down. Do you mind…?"

"Not at all. Go on." He gave her that sad, pitying look he always gave her when she said she was tired or when she was sick. She reached up and kissed his cheek, before heading upstairs to their bedroom. She fell asleep thinking about Lexie, over at Meredith's. She wondered how things were getting along.


	8. May 4th

As the time passed by Lexie and Lynn settled into Meredith's house quite comfortably. Meredith gave them the bedrooms at the back of the cottage. Lexie's room was a larger room, had light blue walls with a matching blue comforter on the double bed. There was a wardrobe on the far wall and a mirror above it. Directly across from the bed was a set of French doors, which could be mistaken for windows. Meredith had put white drapes across them, and then had dark blue drapes to cover the white ones so people couldn't see into the windows at night. Lynn's room was a small room, almost like a large walk in closet, but it was big enough for her play pen and had space for the other things that she needed. It was a light yellow colour and had small windows with lacy drapes and a small table in the corner with a lamp on it. The room was pretty basic but Lynn would never know any different. These two rooms had a door that joined the rooms together, so Lexie wouldn't have to travel far to get to the baby.

Susan called on a regular basis and constantly reminded Lexie that there was plenty of space at her house and it was closer to Alex than all the way out at Meredith's. Lexie would turn her down every week because she didn't want to go back to see him. She shouldn't have to chase after him, he should chase after her, or at least that's what she thought.

She pulled herself out of bed when she heard the sound of Lynn talking to herself. She rubbed her face and wrapped a pink robe around her body and slid the door open. The 2 year old was sitting in the playpen, with her soother hanging out of her mouth and was talking to her blue bunny rabbit that Alex had given her when she was born. He was so sure she was a boy. Lexie shook her head when she thought about it, pushing it from her mind.

"Well, look who's awake." Lexie said causing the baby to jump slightly. Lynn smiled up at her and pulled herself up so she was standing. She looked so cute in her fuzzy pink sleeper. She jumped up and down in the playpen, causing it to shake.

"Well trouble? Are you ready for Breakfast?" the toddlers nodded her head, causing her curls to bounce up and down. She walked to the playpen and placed her hands on her hips. Lynn reached out her arms.

"Up!" She said, which was muffled by her soother. Lexie picked her up and swung her on her hip. She reached down and grabbed the blue bunny that Lynn always took everywhere. She opened the door and headed down the hallway. The house was quiet and peaceful. Lexie quietly walked by Meredith's room and into the kitchen. She put Lynn in the booster seat at the table and poured her a bowl of cheerio's without milk. The she made a pot of coffee and started making scrambled eggs and some bacon.

Lexie felt that if she contributed in small ways, like making breakfast, buying groceries, walking the dog and cleaning the house that she wouldn't feel like such a burden to Derek and Meredith. She had heard them talking one morning in the kitchen.

_Flashback_

_ "Don't look at me that way Derek please." The tap turned on and the sound of water filling the kettle drowned out all other noise. Lexie stood outside the swinging kitchen door and listened._

_ "I'm sorry Mer, but I just don't think it's a good idea. You gave her a free ticket to run away from her problems instead of working through them." He sighed. "Don't get me wrong I love your sister. But if the situation was reversed I wouldn't want you to leave and know that you can stay away for as long as you want." _

_ "Derek, come on. She needs us. It's not a good situation for her over there and a couple of weeks apart will do them some good." Lexie heard Derek sigh. "She needs me and as her sister I'm going to help in the best way that I think I can."_

_ "So you didn't offer help because of the baby?" There was a pause._

_ "Of course I did. Lynn can't be exposed to constant fighting."_

_ "I meant…the other baby."_

_ "Derek! That's not fair." Lexie could tell Meredith was starting to cry. "I wasn't even thinking about that. I don't expect her to stay long enough for that to hap-"_

_ "But what if it does? Meredith I just don't want you to go back to…I don't want you to get upset again." _

_ "I didn't ask her to come because I'm dying to have a baby Derek." Lexie jumped when she heard footsteps heading towards her direction. There was a pause and then a muffled sobbing._

_ "She can stay. You know that I'm not going to make her leave." Derek said._

_ "I know. Just trust me." Derek sighed._

_ "Alright. But if I start to see…changes I'm going to say something." _

_ "You won't. I promise."_

_End Flashback_

Since then Lexie had tried her hardest to pitch in and help out. A whimper brought Lexie back to reality. She turned around and saw Lynn eating away, as happy as can be. She turned back to the stove but heard the whimper again. This time Lynn heard it too, for she made a gasp and said, "whss 'at?" She perked her head up and her eyes were wide. Lexie smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm.

"Did you hear that Lynn?" Lexie said with just as much enthusiasm. She liked playing these little games with her daughter. The dog whimpered again and this time a door opened. The sound of paws hitting the ground came from the hallway and then the kitchen door swung open and Bailey let herself into the kitchen. She wagged her tail happily, her whole body moving from side to side with the force of her tail. She jumped up, sniffing Lynn and giving her hand a lick. Lynn squealed happily and smiled at Lexie who, awkwardly, knelt down on the ground. The puppy trotted over to her, slipping only once on the tiles.

Lexie picked her up and the puppy licked her face. In the weeks that she had been here the puppy had grown from being a runt and ugly, to this cute, little, fat, wrinkly dog who gave kisses constantly and slipped on the hard wood every time she ran. Lexie stared at the dog and shook her head, it had really been a while since she had seen Alex and been home.

As if reading her mind, Meredith walked in. She was in her p.j's, which consisted of blue checkered pants and a white long sleeved t-shirt. Her hair was messy and she looked tired. She smiled at Lexie and then turned to Lynn. She kissed the toddlers face and then tickled her. She squirmed and giggled with delight. The puppy settled happily in Lexie's arms and she remained on the floor. Meredith raised her eyebrows at her and smiled.

"Comfortable?"

"I won't be comfortable for another 2 months." Lexie said, placing the dog on the ground and groaning as she stood back up. She rubbed her ever expanding stomach and leaned against the counter.

"You made breakfast?" Meredith asked, shocked.

"I make breakfast every morning." Lexie said with a laugh. Meredith smiled and poured herself a cup of coffee. She turned, leaning on the opposite counter and took a sip of her coffee. Lexie cringed. "Ugh…how can you drink black coffee?" Meredith shrugged.

"You get used to it." She said. She studied her sister, then the puppy put her paws on Meredith's legs and Meredith adverted her attention to the dog. She patted the puppies head and smiled at her.

"What's up Mer?" Lexie asked, knowing there was something on her sisters mind."

"It's May 4th." She said, studying the coffee in her cup. Lexie racked her brain trying to remember what was so important about May 4th. Her birthday was in March, Derek's was August, and their anniversary was in December. She went through the list of birthdays and special events, but nothing came up on May 4th.

"I…What's so important about May 4th?" Lexie asked.

"It's one month until your due date." Meredith looked at her sister briefly and then back at her cup. Lexie felt her heart sink. She was so preoccupied with her own problems that she didn't even think that her sister would be…upset about her living there.

"Mer, I'm so sorry. I…I" Meredith looked at her curiously. When she realized what Lexie was thinking she held up her hand.

"No Lexie, not that." She took a deep breath and Lexie watched her curiously. "Lexie there's one month until your due date. Do you…Don't you want to make things better between you and Alex before the baby's born?"

Lexie stared at her. She felt her mouth hanging open, but she couldn't close it. She was not expecting this from her sister.

"Do you not want us here? Are we…in the way? Because if we are Mer, we can go." Lexie felt the tears in her eyes. She tried not to take it personally, but she knew that she would feel the same way.

"No Lex. Don't cry. I just don't want…I don't want the baby to be born and her parents hate each other." Lexie wiped the tears from her cheeks and nodded.

"I…I can't go back yet. Not once has he tried to call me Mer. Not once has he reached out and asked for me to go back. He doesn't love me." Lexie let all the stress go that she had been holding and sobbed hard into her sisters shoulder.

"Lex, come on. He loves you. He's just…stuck." Meredith rubbed her sisters back. "He's so young and has his whole life ahead of him and already he's got two kids holding him down."

"But that's not entirely my fault. It's not like I got pregnant on my own." Lexie defended. Meredith looked into her sisters eyes and Lexie noted that there was amusement in them.

"He takes out his frustration on you because it doesn't feel half as bad as when he gets mad a Lynn. You remember how mom used to say that you tend to pick on the ones you loves the most?" Lexie shook her head and wiped her tears.

"She never said that to me."

"Well then maybe she loves me most because we were always fighting." Meredith teased and Lexie smiled, remembering the daily fights between the two of them.

"Anyways…I think you should at least call him. Tell him that you're going for a routine check up and give him the details. After that you go for coffee and work everything out."

"Meredith, it's not that simple. I need to see a change in him."

"Well, you don't have to leave. I'm never going to kick you out. But I want you to at least try to find a proper solution to your problem. And that would be talking to your husband." Lexie rolled her eyes but she knew her sister was right. She needed to talk him eventually.

-------

Lexie sat on the edge of her bed and listened to the silence of the house. Derek and Meredith had left for work around 9:00. Lexie had dressed Lynn and went for a walk with Lynn and Bailey. They walked along the beach for half an hour before Lynn got cranky. She fell instantly asleep and the dog fell asleep by the front door.

She stared at her cell phone in her hands and sighed. She flipped it open and dialed her house number. She hesitated before hitting the call button. She took a deep breath and hit the button. She listened to the dial tone and then the ringing. She pictured the phone on the wall at home ringing.

"Hello." His voice was ragged and tired. She pictured him just waking up from working late in the pub.

"Alex?" She said his name in a low tone.

"Lexie?" he sounded surprised.

"It's me." She confirmed and she heard him sigh.

"How are you? I mean how's Lynn doing?" He asked.

"She's fine. She loves it here. She gets plenty of attention from Derek and Meredith and spends most of the day playing with the dog." Lexie smiled as she thought of her daughter.

"Wonderful." He said sarcastically bringing her back to the situation. "Is that why you called? To rub in the fact that you've kidnapped my daughter." Lexie sat back in shock. She found this amusing and let out a chuckle.

"Like you even care!" She snapped.

"I care very much about the safety of my daughter."

"Don't you dare! You know perfectly well that she's safe here. And if you really cared why didn't you call before?"

"I was…I've been busy." He said.

"Doing what?" Lexie snapped.

"I've contacted a lawyer." Her breath caught and she completely blacked out. She stared at herself in the mirror, which sat directly in front of her. Her shocked expression was one that she had never seen before. It was a mixture of hurt, despair and betrayal. She felt the tears in her eyes and couldn't stop them from running down her cheeks. She wiped them away and sniffed them away.

"Fine." She said.

"Lex." His voice softened and the tears poured down his face. She didn't answer. "It doesn't have to be this way."

"You're the one who called a lawyer."

"You're the one who left."

"But I left to prove a point, which obviously you didn't clue into." She snapped.

"What point was that Lex? That you have the power to take my child away from me? The power to leave me?"

"NO! I did it because…because I wanted you to see what it would be like living without us. And in my stupid mind I thought for sure you would realize that we are important…that maybe you…it doesn't matter."

"Lexie, please." His voice made her want to stay on the phone but she knew that if she did she would lose this fight.

"Goodbye Alex." She said and hung up the phone. She laid back on the bed and sobbed her sadness away.

-----

The phone buzzed beside her head and surprised Lexie, causing her to wake up. She rubbed her face and picked up the vibrating phone. She opened it and greeted her caller.

"Alexandra?" her mother said. Lexie inwardly groaned.

"Hi mom." She rubbed her tired face and sat up. She looked at the clock and noticed that she had only been sleeping for an hour. Derek and Meredith would be home soon and then they would eat dinner.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine mom, how are you?"

"I'm serious Lexie, how are things going?"

"They're fine mom."

"That's why you're still living at your sisters house." Lexie rubbed her face with agitation. She really didn't need this now.

"Yes. I'm still living here, but everything's fine. Don't worry so much." Her mother sighed. She was about to speak but Lexie cut her off. "Mom the baby's awake, so I better go and get her. I'll talk to you later ok?" She didn't give her mother time to answer before she said her goodbyes and hung up the phone.

She stared at herself in the mirror again and groaned. 8 months ago she was thin and happy. She was pretty and had a husband who loved her and pretty much no worries. Now she sat, on a guest bed at her sisters house. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked tired. She wore no make up which made her look even more tired than she was. Her short hair was curly and messy, and it touched her shoulders, which were covered by a purple maternity sweater. The only thing that Lexie did like about herself was how small her stomach was with this pregnancy verses the last pregnancy. She was very much in the front with this baby. When she was pregnant with Lynn she was wide and had a major waddle when she walked. Alex used to tease her about it, but not meaning to hurt her feelings. Now he just hurt her feelings. She sighed and stood up, leaving her problems behind in the bedroom to deal with the later. She had other things to worry about at the moment.


	9. Proposal

George sat at the dinning room table and folded his hands together on top. He has sat this way for so many of his other problems. When he was 6 he punched a kid at school and was told to sit at the table and wait for his father. Then when he was 14 he failed a math and had sat in the exact same spot waiting to discuss it with his parents. Now he sat here with a whole different problem and waited for his parents to meet him.

His mother walked in holding a tray of cups and his father followed behind with the teapot and a pot holder. He placed it down on the table and the two of them sat at George's right. Susan looked at him with wide eyes and a bright smile.

"Would you like some tea dear?" She asked him. George nodded and his father poured each of them a cup.

"Thanks." He said nervously and fiddled with the cup handle.

"Alright, spill it." Thatcher said.

"Spill what?" George said looking at his concerned parents.

"Whatever it is that's bothering you." He answered.

"Izzy's not pregnant is she?" Susan asked.

"No mother." George rolled his eyes. Babies before wedlock were still scandalous in his mother's books.

"Alright then…tell us." She said, placing a steady hand on his and giving it a squeeze of encouragement.

"Ok, well umm…." He started but had no idea where to start. He ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed deeply.

"It can't be that bad son." Thatcher said.

"Ok…here goes. Remember how you told me that-you told me that you would give me your engagement ring if I were to ever find the right woman?" He looked into his mother's eyes and she nodded back.

"Yes I remember." She knew why he was asking this question, but she thought she'd have more fun making him come out and ask for it.

"Well I was just wondering…when you were planning on…giving it to me?" He asked hesitantly. He looked up at her and then back at his tea cup. She pondered this for a second and then smiled.

"Well…when I die I guess." She said simply. George's head shot up, his face was pure horror. She kept a straight face for a minute then smiled.

"Just ask for it George." Thatcher said, shaking his head. George looked from his father to his mother and took a deep breath.

"Mom, I would like the ring so that I can ask Izzy to marry me." He said. "May I have it now?" Susan smiled brightly at him and nodded.

"Of course." When George let out a big smile Susan reached over and gave him a hug. "I would love too."

"Thanks mom." He said.

"Next time just come right out and ask for it. Then it won't take so long."

"But it won't be as fun for you dear." Thatcher said with a smile. Susan shrugged and smiled at her youngest child. He wasn't a baby anymore. He was going to be married and have children and then she would have no one left to take care of. She felt tears in her eyes.

"Excuse me." She said leaving the table. "I'll just go and get the ring."

George looked after his mother with a worried expression and when he turned to his father, Thatcher held out a hand. "She's just happy that's all." He said and George nodded with understanding.

"She doesn't wear it?" George asked him.

"It's too…big." Thatcher said cautiously. George nodded his head and stared at the spot his mother had just been. "She keeps it in a box upstairs, for occasions like this." He explained.

"You don't mind do you?" George asked.

"Not at all. I think it's a great honor that you want your wife to have your mother's ring. A ring that I picked out myself." He said proudly. George shook his head and smiled. Susan appeared back in the room, her eyes were dry and she had a little red velvet box in her hands.

"Here you go." She handed the ring to George and he took it nervously.

"Thanks Ma." He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Your welcome."

"Ma? Please don't tell the girls yet. I want it to be…somewhat of a surprise." He said, shaking his head.

"I promise I won't say a thing." She crossed her heart like a child in kindergarten and smiled.

"You too dad!" George pointed at him and grinned.

"Cross my Heart." Thatcher mimicked his wife and she frowned at him, playfully.

"So how are you going to ask her?" Thatcher asked him.

"You did ask her father's permission, didn't you?" His parents broke out bombarding him with questions, but all George was thinking was that he was about to ask the woman that he loved if she would marry him. He swallowed hard and tried to align the butterflies in his stomach. _Was he really ready for this?_

---------

George parked the car and ran around to open the passenger door. He was very nervous and had barely spoken from the moment he picked her up to now when they had parked at the restaurant. He fiddled with his tie as Izzy put on a bit of lip gloss in the mirror. She looked fantastic. Her blonde hair was hanging down to her shoulders and had a soft curl to it. Her brown eyes sparkled with happiness and twinkled in the moonlight and her cheeks were a soft pink from to cool night air. She wore an emerald green dress that sparkled slightly and reached the floor. It wasn't a low cut dress, but it did show off her collarbones. He had to advert his eyes to stop himself from staring at her.

He held out his hand for her and she grabbed onto it and lifted herself out of the car. He offered her his elbow and they walked towards the fanciest restaurant in town. It over looked the lake and blocked out all sound of cars and noise. It was very upscale and very pricy, but George wanted this night to be perfect.

George told the hostess that they had a reservation and they were seated quickly. They managed to snag a seat right by the window and had a dim lighting above so it was very romantic. They ordered a bottle of wine and then chose their meals. He was shaking slightly and he could tell that she knew something was up. She would give him side glances and study his face, but never once did she ask for an explanation.

"So how are things going between Alex and Lexie?" She asked, looking genuinely concerned.

"Not good. She won't tell my mother what exactly has been happening, but mom knows that its not going as well as everyone wishes." Izzy nodded and took a sip of her wine. "She wants me to go over there and talk to him."

"Why?" Izzy said.

"Just to see how he is doing. Get his side of things." George shrugged.

"Wouldn't it be better to stay out of it?" She asked.

"I suppose, but she's my sister and I can't sit back a let her marriage…fall apart. So I want to help." Izzy nodded and took another sip.

"I would do the same thing, if I were in your shoes." She admitted. "Your poor sister. And little Lynn too. They must be having a rough time right now." George smiled at her concern.

"Actually Lex said that they are having a wonderful time, or Lynn is anyways. She said that Meredith and Derek spoil her like crazy. I was thinking about stopping by tomorrow after work." George said.

"Can I come with you?" George smiled at her and nodded. That was just what he wanted. If things went well tonight they would tell his sisters tomorrow. They started to talk about school and work and family stuff. They ate and talked and joked. Then when their meal was done and George had paid the bill they decided to go for a walk along the beach. The walked along the sand and then went to the harbor. The moon shone off the lake and the stars twinkled. They walked hand-in-hand, soaking up the silence and just enjoying each other's presence.

"What a beautiful night." Izzy said and George nodded. He took a deep breath and stopped walking.

"Izzy…" His heart beat went from 0 to 60 in 3 seconds and his hands started to shake. He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. She looked back with concern and fear.

"Izzy, you and I have been dating for quite some time now and it's been the most amazing time of my life." He started.

"George, what's wrong?" Tears sprang into her eyes. "Are you breaking up with me?" He felt himself laugh and then regretted it.

"No…no of course not!" He held onto her hands tightly. "I love you so much Isabella Stevens." He bent down on one knee in front of her and she gasped when she saw the red ring box. He opened it and presented it to her. One tear rolled down her cheek and he felt himself start to panic.

"Izzy, will you marry me?" He felt like he was in slow motion and it felt like forever before she gave him her answer. She started at the ring and then at him and smiled. She nodded her head, unable to speak and he smiled nervously.

"Of course I will." He smiled and took the ring from the box. He slipped it onto her finger and noticed that it was a perfect fit. He didn't even need to get it sized. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him harder.

When she let go she looked at the ring and smiled. "It's beautiful." She said.

"I thought so too." He said. He would tell her that it once used to be his mother's but for now, he wanted her to enjoy having her own ring. She wrapped her arm around his waist and the two walked back to the car.

"Do your parents know about this?" She asked. "Do MY parents know about this?" She asked. He smiled at her.

"Yes and Yes. I asked your parents first and then asked mine, well more like told mine after."

"That's so sweet that you asked my parent permission."

"I think my mother would've killed me if I hadn't. And plus I needed to know that you're dad approved." She looked at the ring again and sighed. She rested her head on his shoulder. This was the first step to the rest of their lives.

-------

George stood at the apartment door with a box of pizza in one hand and a six pack of beer in the other. When Alex opened the door George's smile faded and he did a double take. The man who stood before him looked like he hadn't slept in years. He hadn't shaved his face in weeks and he looked like he gained 20 lbs.

"Uh, hey bud. Can I come in?" George smiled again. "I brought the goods."

"Yea sure. I was just watching the hockey game."

They entered the living room and George was amazed. In the time that Lexie was gone, the place was an absolute mess. There were things all over the place. Dirty dishes piled up on the table and clothing hung over the chairs. There were pizza boxes and Chinese take out on the floor and Beer cans were crumpled up and tossed anywhere and everywhere. George was surprised that there weren't any mice or roaches running around.

"Hope you don't mind the mess." Alex shrugged, brushing the stuff off the couch. "I haven't gotten around to cleaning it."

"And by the looks of it you haven't gotten around to shaving, getting your hair cut or washed your clothes. What's going on Alex?" George stood by the door ready for Alex to kick him out. He just shrugged.

"Lexie normally cleaned the place. I took care of the pub; she took care of the apartment." George just nodded. Alex frowned. "I'm sorry that I'm not perfect." He shouted. "I don't like to clean."

"I don't like to clean either, but I do because then it doesn't effect the people I live with and it makes you happier. No wonder she left!" George sighed. Alex faced showed pain and then anger.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look I'm sorry man, but this is absolutely ridiculous." George snapped.

"Listen I didn't invite you in so you can nag at me. I get enough from Lexie."

"She hasn't been around lately to nag at you. When was the last time you talked to her? When was the last time you went and saw her?"

"She left me remember?" He scowled.

"Fine, what about Lynn? When was the last time you saw her?" Alex scowled for a moment and the he frowned. His eyes filled up with tears and he turned away.

"It's not that simple." Alex sniffed.

"But it is that simple. Listen Lexie is my sister, so I'm supposed to be on her side and from where I stand I think she had every right to leave. But I also know that there is still a chance that you can fix this."

"I don't see why I have to fix this. It's not my fault that things are…the way they are." He said.

"Dude, it's entirely your fault. Not cleaning and helping out is one thing," George said. "Letting your wife and daughter leave is another."

"I tried to stop her but she didn't listen. She doesn't listen."

"You need to try harder. Or you're going to lose them forever."

"She'll come back." Alex said more to himself than to George.

"You can keep telling yourself that, but it's not going to happen. She's thinking about…well…" George looked away.

"She's thinking about divorce." Alex answered. "I know." George stared at him with shock.

"And you're just going to sit here and do nothing?"

"I don't know what to do?" Alex said, grief painted his face. George sighed.

"First of all, I'd clean this place up, take a shower and shave. Then put on some clean clothes and go to her. Do it soon, before it's too late." George said. Alex stared back at his brother and sighed, knowing he was right and yet still couldn't bring himself to even consider making the first move.


	10. Parenting Lessons

In the weeks that Lexie and Lynn had lived with them, Meredith quickly became aware of what it was like to have a small child in the house. Lynn was growing quickly and with wanted to experience more and more. She was very busy, never sat still unless she was watching cartoons, and was always getting into things. Meredith caught her more than once eating the dog food and washing her hair with the dirt from the potted flowers in the living room. Teaching Lynn what was right and what was wrong was very difficult for Meredith. She had caught Lynn drawing on the walls with crayons, and all Lynn had to do was to look at Meredith with big blue watery eyes and a sad pout and Meredith would cave.

"Be strong woman! She's manipulating you." Lexie said from behind her. Meredith stood up and moved over. Lynn looked at her mother and the tears vanished. She hid the crayon behind her back and tried to pout. Lexie stood staring down at her daughter with her hands on her hips.

"What is that?" Lexie said sternly pointing to the purple scribbling on the yellow painted walls. Lynn looked at it for a moment, tilted her head and then smiled at her mother.

"Fhower!" She said with a big smile. Lexie frowned at her daughter and the smile vanished.

"That's bad! You don't draw on the walls! That's what paper's for." Lexie scolded and took the crayons away. Lynn started to cry loudly and stomp her feet on the floor. Lexie sighed and then walked away from her and Meredith stood gaping at her sister and her distressed niece. Lexie looked back at Meredith.

"Ignore her. She'll stop in a minute." She said and then disappeared into the kitchen. Meredith took one last look at her sobbing, screaming niece and then quickly chased after her sister. In the kitchen Lexie was putting the crayons back in the box.

"You're just going to let her cry?" Meredith asked, completely flabbergasted.

"She's throwing a temper tantrum. If you ignore it then she'll stop a lot faster than when you react to it."

"But what if she doesn't? What if she's really upset?" Meredith said.

"Listen?" They both went silent and listened. There was no noise coming from the hallway. Only the occasional sniffle. They heard tiny feet hitting the hardwood floor and then the kitchen door swung open and a teary eyed, red-nosed toddler slumped into the kitchen.

"Well, are you finished?" Lexie asked looking at Lynn. Lynn rubbed her nose and nodded her head causing her curls to bounce. "What do you say to Auntie Meredith for drawing on the walls?"

"Sowee." Lynn said. Meredith picked her up and cuddled her.

"I really like your flowers but why don't you draw me flowers in my special note book instead?"Meredith said and Lynn's face grew into a huge grin.

"What's your special note book?" Lexie asked. Meredith smiled and reached into the craft cupboard and grabbed a pink notebook with stickers on the cover. "Is that…?" Lexie said staring at the familiar object. Meredith chuckled and laughed.

"I found it in my stuff last year. It's from when I was 4 or 5."

"When you actually enjoyed drawing." Lexie laughed and flipped through the book remembering how much she envied her sister for having this book; how badly she wanted to draw in it when she was little. Meredith sat Lynn at the table with her crayons and the notebook and turned back to her sister.

"That was some parenting lesson." She said smiling. "Good work Teach!" Lexie rolled her eyes and smiled.

"You'll pick up stuff when you have your own baby, you'll see." She said. Meredith felt that familiar pain in her heart and forced herself not to dwell on it. She studied her sister's face and noticed that she looked extremely tired.

"Are you ok?"

"Yea, why?" Lexie looked at her a little confused.

"You looked tired." Meredith said.

"Well that comes with the job, you'll-" Lexie stopped speaking as she realized what she was doing.

"Have you been talking to…Alex?"She whispered the name in case Lynn was listening. Lexie sighed and shook her head.

"Not since the other day." She rubbed her face.

"Well…it's a start." Meredith said, trying to be optimistic. Lexie stared down at the floor and rubbed her stomach gently. "Why don't you go lie down? I can watch the rug-rat." Meredith said pointing to Lynn who was now dangling the crayon over the table and tempting Bailey to jump up and grab it. Meredith picked her up and spun her around.

"I'm ok." She said unconvincingly. "I didn't come here to burden you with my problems."

"Lex, we're family. You're supposed to burden me with your problems. That's what families do. I mean I burden you with mine all the time. All my baby drama, if I didn't talk to you about that I would probably go crazy." Meredith chuckled as she held Lynn tightly and tickled her sides. "Besides stress can cause you to go into early labour and I don't really think you want to have this baby in the next week do you?"

"Well it's a possibility. I mean my due dates in what three weeks?" Lexie sighed as she studied the calendar.

"It's ok." Meredith said patting her sister's shoulder. "We'll deal with that hump when we get to it." Meredith smiled at her sister. "Now go sleep. That's an order."

"Go!" Lynn said, mimicking her aunt's facial expressions. Lexie smiled at her and then at her sister. She nodded and then headed off to her room.

"Now what are you going to do with you my little rug-rat?" Meredith said looking at Lynn.

"No rug-rat!" She said appalled. "Me Lynn!" She said placing a hand over her chest. Meredith chuckled and put her back at the table with her crayons. She sat down and started drawing flowers and trees and animals, listening to Lynn jabber away in a foreign language which she was just starting to understand.

The phone rang half an hour later and Meredith put down the crayons and answered it.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hi honey. It's your mother." Susan said.

"Huh, funny I thought it Derek. You know you sound so much like him?"

"Very funny! How are things going?"

"Fine. Things are progressing at a constant pace." Meredith said. "Lynn, don't touch the flowers. Smell them…"

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. Lynn has a new fascination with flowers, Mom. Finally you have someone who likes to garden as much as you do."

"Well…that's good news. She'll have to come and visit me soon." Susan said making the hint very obvious.

"We're coming over next weekend mother. Isn't George supposed to be breaking his engagement news to us?"

"OH! Don't tell him I told you. You didn't tell you sister did you?" Susan said.

"Of course I told her. You think I can keep that to myself. But don't worry we've been practicing our surprised reactions all week. _Why Georgie! I had no idea you were thinking about getting married! Did you end up making it to the pier like you planned?"_ Meredith said in a fake enthusiastic voice and then chuckled at the end.

"Meredith. I'm serious. He'll be very upset if you already know." Her mother said with amusement on her voice.

"I know mother. Don't worry. I won't say a thing." Susan sighed and the conversation went quiet. Meredith sat at the table and watched Lynn study the picture she was drawing.

"How is she doing Meredith?" Susan asked. Meredith could hear the concern in her mother's voice and the frustration that she could do nothing to fix her daughter's situation.

"She's…tired. She talked to Alex last week and it didn't go so well."

"Didn't go well?"

"He's hired a lawyer." She heard Susan groan.

"My poor girl. Why won't she tell me these things?" Meredith cringed as she heard the hurt in her mother's tone.

"She's embarrassed mom. She doesn't want to disappoint you."

"She's not…what? How would that be disappointing me?"

"Well you and dad worked through your problems and she'll be the first one to get a divorce." Meredith sighed. "I think it's going to be fine. You said that George went and talked to him so I expect something to happen soon."

"What if she has the baby first?"

"Then she has the baby first. It's not a big deal as long as this gets solved." Susan sighed with frustration and the conversation went quiet again. Meredith sat colouring in a flower she had just drawn.

"So…how's the baby making going?"Her mother asked, tone completely changed.

"MOTHER!" Meredith protested and Susan chuckled.

"After all this time been married to Derek talking about sex still embarrasses you!" Susan laughed. Meredith pictured her mother sitting at the kitchen table, with a cup of tea and laughing her hearty laugh while she shook her head with disbelief.

"Sex is private. It's not…something you talk about." Susan went quiet. "But if your that curious its…great!" Susan laughed again.

"Any results?"

"I don't know… gimme a couple of days and we'll see." Meredith sighed as the feelings of excitement and fright mixed together.

"Well I will keep my fingers crossed and remember you in my prayers."

"Thanks Mom." Meredith sighed. She somehow always felt better knowing that she wasn't the only one praying for her to have a baby.

"Well I better go. Your father's going to be expecting dinner sometime soon."

"Ok, bye mom. I love you." She heard Susan sigh and felt like her heart was squeezing in her chest.

"I love you too. Don't worry about me dear. I'll be fine. Just focus on your baby, Ok?" Meredith bit back the tears and nodded. She then realized that her mother couldn't see her and exhaled a shaky breath.

"Ok Mom. I just…"

"Meredith, please honey. Don't do this to yourself now. It will be fine." Her mother's reassurance used to fix Meredith's worries right away, but she had seen the scans and done the tests herself. She knew what was going to happen in the months to come. "Meredith? You're still thinking about it aren't you?"

"I'm sorry." Meredith sighed.

"Stop it. Go and make dinner and tell that sister of yours to call me when she wakes up. Or I'll drive out there and you'll be having three house guests instead of two." Meredith chuckled and wiped away the tears.

"Ok, bye Mom." With that she hung up the phone and noticed that Lynn was watching her carefully. She sighed and smiled at her niece. "Hungry?"

"Mmmmm!" Lynn said nodding her head and smiling brightly. Meredith laughed and went off to make dinner, trying to forget all the bad things that were happening in her life.

------

Meredith sat on the edge of the bathtub, in pink flannel p.j bottoms and white t-shirt and tapped her leg with anticipation. She looked at the portable alarm clock on the counter and sighed. 30 seconds had passed since she had last checked the time. She placed the test on the counter and stood up. She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. She was extremely nervous. She was only a couple of days late, but she was too hopeful to wait any longer to take the test.

She studied her face and sighed. She rubbed her pale cheeks and looked at the tiny wrinkles forming at the sides of her eyes. She pushed her brown hair up into a pony tail and splashed cold water on her face. She dried it carefully with a towel and then checked the time. 1 minute left. She looked at her shaky hands and sighed. She grabbed her purple toothbrush and started to brush her teeth. She tapped her foot impatiently, taking her time in hopes that it would speed up time. When she heard the alarm beep she spit in the sink and grabbed the test before she rinsed her mouth or the toothbrush. She looked at the test on the counter and sighed. A tiny pink cross blinked back at her. She placed the test on the counter and placed both hands on the counter. She took a deep breath and smiled slightly. She placed both hands on her now flat stomach and looked at the ceiling.

"Please God, don't take this baby away from me." She said out loud.

"Meredith? Are you ok?" Derek said through the closed bathroom door. Meredith jumped and rinsed her mouth and then the toothbrush. She smoothed out her t-shirt, took a deep breath and opened the door. He looked at her with raised eyebrows, his blue eyes showing signs of aging and late nights at the hospital. She didn't know how to say it. She had said it many times before but now, this time was different.

"I'm…pregnant." She said cautiously; tasting the words. His expression changed from concern to confusion and then to concern again.

"Are you ok?" He asked. She looked at him with shock. A laugh left her lips and she felt herself relax.

"Of course. I'm pregnant." She said, looking at him. He smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her. She placed her head on his shoulder and inhaled deeply.

"What do you want to do?" Derek whispered.

"Do?" She said looking up at him.

"I mean, do you want to tell people, or do you want to wait?" Meredith thought about this for a moment and then sighed.

"I just want it to be normal and stress free. I'll tell people if I feel like I need to, but I'm not going to worry about it." She said nodding her head to give herself encouragement. She saw the twinkle of amusement in Derek's eyes and smiled. "I'm not!"

"Ok. I'll just remind you of that next week when you start to stress out." He chuckled and she frowned at him. He looked down at her and smiled. He leaned towards her and kissed her deeply, and passionately.

"We're pregnant." He said and she grinned back at him before she kissed him again.


	11. Acceptance

"Molly. The phone's for you!" Molly looked up from the dough in her hands and nodded to Arizona, the head waitress. "It's your husband." She smiled a pearly white smile and her blonde ponytail flapped as she turned and went back out front. Molly sighed and wiped her hands on her apron. He had been calling her cell all day. She knew she had to talk to him, but talking to Owen felt like such a chore these days.

She went into the office and waved to Arizona, to hang up on her end. When it was all clear Molly sighed and sat down.

"Hello, Molly Hunt speaking." She said formally.

"Mol, it's me." His voice was tired and tense.

"Oh hi darling. Listen you've caught me at a bad time. Well a bad day actually you see…we're catering for this wedding next Thursday so I have to bake some-"

"Jackson's going to stay with us this weekend." He said, cutting her off. She choked on her breath.

"Pardon? I believe you just said…"

"Callie has agreed to let him stay with us this weekend." Owen said with a sigh. She pictured him at home, in the study, his hair all messy from running him hands through them and his pale blue eye red and tired. Molly sighed.

"What-what am I supposed to do with him? You have to work and I've got dinner at my mothers tomorrow. Cant he come a different weekend?" Molly sighed, brushing back loose strands from her ponytail.

"I've talked to the chief and he understands. And I think it would be a good idea to…" His voice faded.

"To what? Introduce your bas- your baby to my family?" Molly snapped.

"Molly." Owen sighed.

"Well what did you expect me to do? Jump for joy at the fact that your love child is moving in. I'm sorry but I'm not ready for this. No Owen, he's not meeting the family. Or staying at the house for that matter." She said with a stern, yet shaky voice. Owen was silent.

"You know what? He's MY son. So he's going to stay with ME at MY house. If you want to find somewhere else to stay this weekend that's fine by me." And then there was a click and silence. Molly stared at the phone in pure shock. He had never spoken to her that way before. How dare he speak to her that way! She slammed the phone down and slumped back in the chair. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. How dare he agree to this without talking to her? Then again it is his son not hers. But he must know how uncomfortable this whole situation makes her feel? Molly sighed and placed her elbows on the desk and rested her head in her hands.

"Molly. I'm sorry to, uh interrupt but I've got a brilliant idea for the cake." Addison, Molly's best friend and sue chef, said as she stuck her head threw the door. One look at Molly's face and she knew something was wrong. She tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear and crossed her arms over her chest and stood in front of Molly's desk. "What's going on?" She asked. Molly looked at her and sighed. Then she told Addison everything that had happened and was happening.

-------

Molly pulled into her driveway at 5:30. Owen's black sun fire was parked on his side of the garage. Molly took a deep breath and opened the car door. She shut it as quietly as she could and opened the door to the mud room. She slipped off her white running shoes, which she normally wore when she worked in the kitchens. She dropped her bag on the bench and hung up her coat. She listened for sound before she left the mudroom and headed towards the front staircase.

As she started climbing the steps she heard her name being said from behind her. She froze on the steps and took a deep breath. She turned around and saw Owen in a navy blue t shirt and light jeans. His hair was messy and he looked very tired. She frowned at him, feeling a strangely familiar feeling in her heart and shook her head.

"I need to shower. I'm covered in flower." She said before turning around and heading up to their bathroom to shower. She took her time in the shower and drying her hair and then decided to straighten it. Unlike Lexie and Meredith, Molly's hair had a frustrating wave and was next to impossible to do anything with unless it was curled or flattened. She put on some make up and then walked to the closet to pick out an outfit. She took great pride in her wardrobe, for she had spent a lot of time and money on the clothes that hung in this room. She slid her hands over her hanging clothes and then spotted an outfit that would be perfect for this evening.

It was a navy blue turtle neck that looked amazing on her. It clung to every curve in her slim, toned body and made her blue eyes seem darker. She picked out a pair of dark tight jeans and a pair of black Gucci shoes. They were one of her favorite pairs of shoes. Made of snakeskin and died black, they were 4.1" heels and completed the outfit. Molly added a black beaded necklace and some perfume and then headed downstairs.

She was halfway down when the doorbell rang. She sighed brushed her hair back and answered the door. Callie smiled slightly as she opened the door. She wore dark jeans that Molly guessed were maternity pants. She wore a black jacket and black running shoes. Her black hair was in a pony tail and she was struggling with the car seat and a diaper bag.

"Here, I can take that bag for you." Molly said. Callie gave the bag to her and then stepped inside. She took in Molly's outfit and gave her just the reaction Molly had wanted. Jealousy and longing passed over her face.

"I love your shoes." She sighed.

"Oh these old things? Thanks." Molly grinned and then it dropped when she saw Jackson in the seat. He was looking right at her with the same blue eyes that Owen had. Molly bent down and looked into the car seat.

"He's a lot more awake these days." Callie said.

"He looks just like him." Molly whispered.

"Yea…" There was an awkward silence in the air as Molly studied the baby in front of her. She looked into his blue eyes and felt a new pain in her heart, something she hadn't felt before. A shadow blocked the light and she looked up to see Owen looking down at her with a hopeful expression. She immediately frowned and stood up.

"You can sit in here Callie. Want something to drink?" She said in a cool tone, passing Owen and heading towards the kitchen.

"Um…water please." Molly disappeared into the kitchen on the last syllable. She heard whispering in the hall and then heard them move into the living room. She rested her head on the fridge and took a deep breath. This was harder than she thought it would be.

-----

"I've packed a ton of diapers and sleepers in case there's an accident. There's a tin of formula with the instructions as to how much he takes, taped to the outside. There's bibs, toys, books, fresh clothes, everything." Callie said with a smile, her eyes flicking nervously from Molly to Owen.

"Thanks Cal." Molly watched as the girl flinched at her nickname. She nodded to him and then looked to Molly.

"I have the other part of the car seat in my car. I'll go and get it." She said standing and wiping her palms on her jeans.

"It's ok, Callie." Molly spoke. Callie looked at her curiously. "We bought one for our car. Just in case." Molly said with a slight smile. Her eyes flicked from Callie's curious face to Owen's shocked one.

"Ok…" Callie said somewhat hesitantly.

"You want to see it?" Molly said, trying to make it seem like she wasn't tuned into Callie's worry. Callie nodded slightly and Molly got up. Callie followed her, as did Owen carrying the baby. They opened the door leading to the garage and Molly flicked on the light. She went to her red Nissan Altima and clicked open the back door. There in the middle of the back seat was a dark blue car seat. It had a thick cushioning on the inside and a soft, yet strong head rest for the baby's head. Callie slipped into the car and inspected it. Owen gave Molly a curious look as he too peered in the car to see this car seat.

"See if he fits!" Molly said, somewhat excited. Owen slipped Jackson into the car seat and Molly sighed. Perfect fit. Callie got out of the car and smiled.

"He'll be fine here." Molly said with a reassuring smile. Callie nodded and sighed.

"Well I better go then." Callie said. She said her goodbyes to the baby and nodded to Molly and Owen. She gave her phone number again and racked her brain for anything that she had forgotten. 10 minutes later she was gone and Owen, Molly and Jackson stood at the door. As the car disappeared down the street Molly sighed and closed the door.

"When did you buy the seat?" Owen asked her.

"After work. I stopped by one of those baby stores and picked it up. I got one of those playpen things too." She said, looking at the sleeping baby in Owen's arms.

"Thanks." Owen said and Molly nodded. She sighed and turned and went into the kitchen to start making dinner.

------

Molly had left Owen alone all night. She had bought the car seat because she felt bad for giving him a hard time but she wasn't about to jump up and start helping him either. She after dinner she went into the study and started righting out what she needed for the wedding that she was catering for. She called her mother and figured out what time everyone was supposed to be over at and then she went for a long bath. She climbed into bed at 10:30 and fell asleep by 11:00.

Around 2 Jackson woke up for the third time. Owen groaned and rolled over. Molly stared at the ceiling and waited for Owen to get up. When he didn't she pinched him.

"Ouch, what was that?" he snapped.

"Here that? That's a baby crying." Owen groaned again. "After all he is YOUR SON." Molly snapped. Owen laid still for a moment and the slumped out of bed. He scratched his head as he walked from their room to the guest room down the hall. Molly turned on her side and closed her eyes. But she couldn't sleep. She listened to Owen talk to the baby calmly. She listened to his feet pace the floor and she listened to his horse sleepy voice attempt to sing a lullaby. But the baby just wouldn't stop crying. Molly sighed and quietly got up. She walked down the hall and into the room. Owen was rocking the hysterical baby.

"Why won't you go to sleep? What did I do to deserve this?" Owen said with frustration. Molly laughed and walked up to him.

"You big baby. Here!" She held out her arms and Owen passed her the baby. She grabbed the soother from the play pen and soft blue blanket. She gave the baby the soother and put the blanket between her body and his. Then she patted his bottom gently as she walked back and forth in the bedroom. In a matter of two minutes he stopped crying and was dozing off.

"You are an angel. I mean I thought so before but that is defiantly proof." Owen said as he sat on the bed. Molly laughed slightly and shook her head. She looked at him and saw the look he was giving her.

"I'm sorry." She said. He looked startled for a second and then sighed.

"No I'm sorry. I should've talked with you first. I just thought…I just thought this would be a good idea. Him meeting your family and staying here, makes it more…real to me." He said rubbing his face.

"I want…I want to be just as much apart of his life as you do, but I need a little bit more of a warning next time." Owen nodded.

"Next time I promise to give you three weeks notice."

"A month would be better." Molly joked and he smiled at her. She slipped the sleeping baby back into the playpen and covered him with a blanket. They stood looking down at the baby together.

"We can do this." He said, slipping his arm around her waist. She rested her head against his shoulder and sighed. Maybe he was right. Maybe they could do this.

-------

Molly looked anxiously at Owen, as they pulled into her mother's driveway. Meredith and Derek were already there, which meant that Lexie and Lynn where there too. He smiled at her and they parked behind Derek's truck. Molly opened the door, grabbed the basket of baked goods she had made and Owen grabbed Jackson and the diaper bag.

"Ready?" She asked him. He shook his head at her.

"You act like we're going to meet the prime minister. It's your family."

"I know." Her eyes flicked to the car seat and then she sighed. It's going to be fine. She told herself. She opened the door and walked into the warm familiar house. The yellow walls looked golden with the light and the house had a nice aroma to it.

"Hello?" She called out. She heard a bustle of noise and then her mother appeared from the living room. She smiled brightly but Molly couldn't smile back. Her mother was slowly deteriorating in front of her eyes. She had seen her mother less than two weeks ago and she looked a lot better than she looked now. It was clearly obvious that Susan was wearing a wig and her skin was pale and paper thin. She shook when she touched her daughter's face and stared into her eyes. She still had that familiar twinkle in her eyes and her laugh was the same as it had always been. Somewhere underneath this sickly outer layer was her mother.

"Hello Molly." She said kissing her lightly on the cheek. Molly felt tears in her eyes as she could feel the bones in her mother's spine.

"Oh Mom." Molly said hugging her close. She heard Susan chuckle and felt her mother sigh and pat her back.

"It's fine, Molly. Come on. No more of this." She whispered into her daughter's hair and Molly nodded and let go. She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled slightly.

"Owen." Susan said with admiration. She hugged him tightly. Owen had one Susan's approval from the first day. To her, Owen could do no wrong. "And who's this?" Owen looked to Molly with surprise.

"I forgot to tell you. Sorry Mom. Callie let Jackson stay with us this weekend." Molly said with a shrug. Owen turned the car seat around and showed Susan the baby. He smiled proudly when she started to coo over him.

"He looks just like you." Susan said to Owen smiling up at him. "Come on, bring him in here." Susan walked back into the living room. Everyone was in the living room and greeted them instantly. The women cooed over the baby and then men stood back and smiled. Lexie waddled up to her and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"How are you taking it?" She said as Meredith appeared at her other side.

"It's ok. I think he likes me better so it's good I guess." Molly said with a smile.

"Who Owen or the baby?" Meredith teased. She hugged her sister tightly. "I think it's good that you brought him."

"Owen says it makes him more…real." Lexie and Meredith both nodded and watched everyone surrounding the baby. "So has he told everyone yet?"

"Not yet, but it's kinda obvious I mean she's wearing the ring." Lexie said with a shake of her head. Molly chuckled and watched her baby brother look nervously at his soon to be wife.

"Hey George!" Molly called over to him and he jumped. He smiled at her and went to hug her.

"How's it going sis?" He said into her hair.

"Are you going to tell everyone yet or what?" She whispered. He frowned at her and then smiled brightly.

"We were waiting for you."

"Seriously your always the one who's late for these functions." Lexie sighed.

"You better not be late for the wedding." Meredith laughed and then stopped when she realized that George was gaping at her. "Sorry. Mom told me." She said holding up her hands. He looked at Lexie and knew that she too had known about his engagement. He sighed with frustration.

"Figures. Nothing stays a secret in this family." He rolled his eyes and turned to look at the crowd around them. Susan was in the middle of it and was telling everyone a story about when she had just had Meredith and how scared she was. They all laughed at her and each one of her children felt that familiar pain in their hearts as they looked at their mother.

"Sad, isn't it?" Thatcher spoke lowly from behind them. They all jumped and turned to look at him. He stared at his wife with a grim expression. They nodded and sighed. Tears welled up in Molly's eyes.

"There's got to be something that the doctor missed." Lexie said with frustration.

"She's defiantly sick. What doctor did you go and see?" George asked.

"A good one." Thatcher said.

"How good?" Molly asked.

"One of the best." They shook their heads with disbelief.

"Apparently he wasn't good because he gave her a clean bill of health." George snapped.

"Look at her Dad. Tell me that you don't think she's sick. She looks…awful." Lexie said with a sad expression. Thatcher looked towards Meredith and she sighed.

"Don't make a scene." Thatcher said quietly and they all turned to look at him. "Your mother has breast cancer." Molly gasped and tears sprang into Lexie's eyes.

"But…how…when…"George asked staring at his father in disbelief.

"She's been fighting it for about 6 months now. She didn't want anyone to know, so she told you she was fine. But as you can clearly see, the treatment is not working."

"There's got to be another way." Meredith said and Thatcher shook his head.

"Your mother has come to terms with her fate. Now its you who has to do the same." He said sadly. Lexie shook her head in disbelief and tears poured down Molly's face.

"What's going on over there?" Susan's voice rang out over the crowd. "You know secluding yourself from the group is not polite." She chuckled and then stopped when she saw Thatcher's expression matched Meredith's. Molly turned away and left the living room.

"What's wrong with her?" Susan asked eyeing Thatcher suspiciously.

"Hormones." He said and coughed as he passed by her. "Let me see this baby?" He said with a smile. Susan studied her remaining three children carefully. They all looked at her with grim expressions. Then Meredith coughed and smiled.

"Well George…get on with it." She said nudging him. He tore his gaze away from his mother and went to Izzy's side. She looked up at him with concern but he just shook his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen…" George started. Susan stood between Lexie and Meredith.

"He told you didn't he…" She whispered furiously. Meredith sighed and Lexie choked.

"Isabelle and I have decided…to get married." Laughter and congratulations and "it's about time" erupted around them. The couple were surrounded by laughter and happiness. Meredith, Susan and Lexie stood back a moment and watched and then Susan sighed and walked forward, completely happy for her son. Molly joined them now and wiped her face with a tissue. The three women stood back and watched their mother, afraid of life without her.


	12. Never Too Late

Lexie flipped the switch on the electric kettle and waddled into the living room. She plopped down on the couch and let out a deep sigh. Bailey came skipping in from outside and jumped up on the couch beside. She laid her head on Lexie's lap and took deep tired breaths. She patted the dogs head and closed her eyes. She listened to the long pants from the dog and felt the baby move around. She ran her fingers along her belly and started to hum. The baby stopped squirming and pushed its little hand on her tummy, following her fingers as they moved across her stomach. Derek and Meredith came in threw the door, laughing at Lynn, who stumbled in threw the door. They spotted her on the couch and smiled. Lynn ran to Lexie and threw herself at her mother. Lexie smiled at her and struggled to help the two year old onto the couch beside her.

Lynn rested her head on Lexie's stomach and followed her mother's example by running her fingers across her mother's stomach and singing a song that she learned from The Wiggles. Derek plopped down on the arm chair across from them and sighed.

"Did you have a good walk?" Lexie asked. Lynn smiled up at her.

"We did. Tell Mommy what we saw honey?" Meredith said, sitting on the arm of Derek's chair.

"Turtle!" Lynn smiled and then started gibbering in her own language about the turtle. Lexie smiled down at her and Meredith chuckled.

"This is what you have to look forward too. A conversation that you don't even understand." Lexie said to her with a smile.

"But it was fun to see how excited she got about it." Lexie nodded her head and brushed Lynn's blonde curls out of her face. The baby gave a sharp kick to her rib and Lexie gasped and tried to sit up straighter.

"Hey kid, you ok?" Derek said, calling her kid as he always had.

"Yea, she's got an amazing kick." Lexie said with a sigh.

"Soccer!" Meredith said proudly. "She'll be really good at soccer."

"Why would you want her to play soccer? That's not a real sport." Derek smiled. "Now hockey! That's a real sport." Meredith rolled her eyes and Lexie smiled. The kettle clicked and Lexie sighed. She started to attempt to get up when Meredith stood up.

"I'll get it Lex. You just sit." Meredith said.

"It's ok. I can-"Lexie started.

"When I'm 9 months pregnant you can return the favor." Meredith said with a smile and Lexie nodded. She was amazed at her sister's positivity and determination that this baby would make it. Lynn bounced off the couch and ran down the hall to her bedroom and the dog chased after her. Lexie closed her eyes and rested her head on the couch.

"You look like you're about to explode." Derek said with concern. Lexie stared at him and he smiled. "No offense." Lexie shook her head.

"Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't even think about it before you mentioned it." Lexie said with a smirk.

"I mean, you look really uncomfortable. It must be any day now."

"My due date was yesterday." Lexie said with an uneasy sigh.

"Yesterday, Oh Lex. I completely forgot." Meredith said coming from the kitchen with two teacups. She handed one to Lexie and sat on the couch beside her. She took a sip and looked at Derek. "Oh I'm sorry I didn't even think…" she smiled brightly and he sighed and shook his head. He stood up and ruffled her hair as he went by, and headed to the kitchen.

"Meredith…" Lexie said turning to her sister. Meredith looked at her with bright eyes, completely attentive. "I…I'm sorry that I am doing this to you."

"Doing what?" Meredith said with a bright smile.

"I mean…putting you out like this. I think I've, we've burdened you long enough." Meredith sighed and put the tea cup down. She grabbed Lexie's hand and looked her directly in the face.

"Lexie, I'm going to tell you this again and hopefully for the last time. You are my sister and I am going to do anything I can to help you out. If this is the only way that I can help you out then that's how I'm going to do it. You and I are family and family is there for each. Now stop thinking that you and Lynn are burdening me. I am getting to form a special bond with my niece. That is extremely important to me and to Derek. You can have your baby here. We are not going to be put out by the baby."

"But it'll cry and be up late, make lots of noise." Lexie felt tears in her eyes. Meredith gave her hand a tight squeeze and smiled.

"Look at it this way. It will be practice for when my baby comes. You're teaching us what having a new baby is like." She smiled brightly. The phone rang in the background and Meredith sighed. "That's probably mom. She's got a sixth sense about these things." They listened as Derek answered the phone and when he didn't call for her she turned back to Lexie. "No more of this burdening business. When you're ready you can leave then. But till then you're stuck here, with us, ok?" Lexie smiled and nodded.

"Thank you." Meredith wrapped her arms around her sister and gave her a tight hug. Derek came threw the kitchen door and looked at Lexie with a glum expression.

"Who's on the phone?" Meredith asked. Derek looked at Lexie.

"Phones for you." He said to Lexie. "I think you might want to take it in the kitchen." Derek said. Lexie nodded and he offered his hands to her. She grabbed his hands and pulled her off the couch. She sighed and waddled into the kitchen. She picked up the phone and listened. There was a soft breathing on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Lex?" She choked. It had been so wrapped up in preparing for the baby that she had barely thought about Alex.

"Alex." She said.

"How…how are you?" He hesitated before he asked.

"I'm fine thanks. The size of a whale but that's to be expected."

"And Lynn?"

"She's fine Alex." She heard him sigh and then they went silent. She listened to the sound of his breathing and could almost hear his brain trying to work up something to say.

"Alex, why did you call?"

"I…I want to come and see you." Her breath caught.

"To what? Why?"

"Because…I miss you." He sighed. "It's not the same without you here. Look Lexie I know I've been a total dick. I'm…sorry." Lexie sighed and the tears poured down her cheeks.

"I can't…I can't think." She admitted.

"Please Lex, let me come and see you." She sighed and wiped her cheeks. She debated how she should answer. She didnt want to be the first to cave and immeadatly take him back, but then again he had made a big move in calling her and asking to come and see her.

"Fine." She half whispered and she heard him sigh.

"Thank you. I've missed you guys so much. It so…quiet around here."

"Why because I'm not there to nag you?" She said bitterly.

"No, I miss the sound of your breathing when you're fast asleep, or the sound of Lynn running down the hallway in the morning. The house is empty without you here." Lexie sighed.

"I don't want to get hurt again Alex and I'm not about to put our daughter back in the same situation we just left."

"I am promising you now that I am going to change and we will work on this… together."

"Stop by on Friday. Around lunch. Lynn will be awake then and Meredith and Derek are at work."

"Thank you."

"See you then." She said and hung up the phone. She sighed and stared at the phone. She felt a tight pressure in her stomach and sat down. The pressure in her stomach increased as she thought about Alex coming to visit in just two days. She shook her head wiped away the remaining tears and stood up to go back into the living room. All of sudden a sharp pain rippled threw her lower abdomen and she bent forward. She took a sharp breath and placed her hands on the counter to support herself. She heard her name being called from the living room.

The kitchen door opened and two hands were on her arms in a matter of seconds. She was seated at the table and Meredith knelt in front of her.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"I think…I think something's wrong." Lexie gasped again as a new wave of pain took over her body.

"Have you been feeling this way for a while?" Meredith asked.

"I felt funny this morning. Like there was pressure when I woke up and a couple of times it was strong but nothing like contractions, well not really. These are…" She held her breath and squeezed Meredith's hands.

"Are contractions. Come on. Time to go to the hospital." Meredith said. "Derek grab Lexie's over night bag that she's packed in her room please." Meredith said. Lexie watched her sister flutter around the house grabbing anything she would need. She seemed to zone out occasionally. All she could think about was getting the baby out. She remembered kissing a crying Lynn in Derek's arms and then Meredith helping her put her seat belt on. She didn't remember much of the drive to the hospital just that it took an agonizingly long time.

Once at the hospital she was put in a wheel chair and brought to the nearest room. She got undressed rather quickly and Meredith sat beside her filling out all the paper work asking her agonizingly plain questions that Meredith didnt know the answers too. Lexie felt the now familiar pain in her lower abdomen and Meredith reached out her hand. Lexie grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. She waited out the contraction and when it passed she sighed and remember giving birth with Lynn. It was a lot scarrier and she wasnt alone in the fear. Alex had stood by herside the whole 15 hours and had cried when the baby was placed in his arms. He told her later that he was just tired and it was the stress finally releasing, but Lexie knew it was because he was happy and proud to have a child. She sighed and felt tears in her eyes.

"Meredith?"

"Hmm?"

"Call Alex, please."


	13. Promises

George arrived at the hospital at half past 10. It was calm and quiet and he found the "birthing suites" very easily. He spotted his family sitting in the waiting room. Susan was staring at the floor, daydreaming, while Thatcher dozed in the chair beside her and Molly was showing Izzy something in a trashy Magazine with Brad Pitt on the cover. George shook his head and smiled at his family before he went and joined them.

All three women smiled up at him and greeted him as he sat down beside Izzy. He kissed his soon to be wife and winked at her. She smiled back and yawned.

"You seem tired today." He said with a smile. She shrugged and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I just finished my shift. I heard that Lexie was here and wanted to…"She shrugged. "be apart I guess." George smiled at her. She showed no signs of just finishing work. She had changed from her blue scrubs into a pair of jeans and a navy blue t-shirt, and her blonde hair was still in a pony tail. He rested his cheek on her head and sighed.

"How's she doing?" George asked his mother.

"Oh, we saw her about 15 minutes ago?" She looked to Molly who confirmed her question with a nod. "She tired but doing ok. The doctor said she was almost fully dilated so it should be really soon." She smiled brightly.

He listened to the sounds of the quiet hospital and started to think of his sister lying in one of those rooms, about to have another baby. His thoughts then drifted to when they were children.

The two of them were close in age and had always had a special bond between them. He remembered the countless hours of playing house where he was the scared little brother and she was the one who needed to comfort him and save him from his fate. He remembered the hours that they played harmless pranks on their teenage sisters, such as switching toothpaste with glue or taking all their bras and hanging them out their bedroom windows. He remembered when they had become teenagers and their bond had grown even stronger. They were two years apart but Lexie always made him feel like he was her age, equal to her. She invited him to the parties that she went to and shared her frustrations about her parents with only him. They grew to share the same ideals and have similar ambitions. George smiled as he remembered their genius plan on moving out of the house. She was 17 and he was 15 and they were both in an "I-Hate-Parents" faze. They talked about how they were going to move to Toronto and get an apartment. There they would have no responsibilities and rules and they would have parties all the time. George chuckled as he remembered that they didn't even have their driver's licenses.

Looking at where George and Lexie were now he couldn't believe how things had turned out. None of their plans of care free lives had fallen through. Lexie was married and had, or would have in a few hours, 2 small children and George was slowly following that same path. He couldn't believe how fast the time had gone by; how much they had changed. One minute they were small children exploring the tiny forest in their backyard looking for buried treasure and the next minute they were getting married or having babies.

"Where's your mind?" Izzy whispered pulling him from his thoughts. He shrugged and sighed.

"I was just remembering what it was like when we were kids."

"Funny, Mom's been doing the same thing." Molly said as she turned a page in the Magazine. Susan smiled.

"I was thinking about when you were being picked on by that Avery kid, remember?" Susan nudged George's arm.

"How could I forget? He terrorized me." Molly snorted and Izzy looked at her confused.

"He was this tiny kid in George's class who used to call him fat and tease him, like all kids do." Molly said looking at George with an amused expression. "George tended to take things seriously back then." George frowned at her.

"You wouldn't like being picked on either Molly." Susan defended and Molly shrugged. Susan turned back to Izzy and smiled. "Anyways there was this one time where George had been walking home from school and I guess this kid followed him the whole way taunting him and teasing him. I remember seeing Lexie sitting in the arm chair, she had been home sick that day and wasn't with him to walk home. She had been watching out the window waiting for any sight of George, because she used to worry about him."

"A lot. She used to worry herself so much that you thought she had given birth to him." Molly joked.

"They were close as kids." Susan frowned slightly at her daughter. "Anyways, she saw George walking down the road with this kid following behind him. She got up so fast from the chair and marched to the front door, threw on a pair of pink rain boots and marched down the street, in her night gown. I watched her walk up to this kid and punch him right in the face." George beamed and Izzy chuckled.

"She gave him a nice black eye." He said proudly.

"Really? Were you mad?" Izzy asked Susan.

"She was furious." George answered. "I can remember watching _her_ marching down the street. We almost shit our pants." He chuckled and his mother swatted his arm for using foul language.

"I had to teach her that hitting people was wrong, but I was proud that she had stuck up for her brother."

"He never bothered me again after that fight. He used to avoid me, especially when Lexie was around." Molly and Izzy chuckled at the idea of someone being afraid of tiny little Lexie.

Alex came into the waiting room with a tiny bundle, wrapped in a white blanket, in his arms. They all jumped up and went to his side. He smiled brightly; proudly.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce you to the newest member of your family, Jonathan Michael Karev." He turned so that the baby was visible to everyone crowded around him. The tiny baby was sucking his thumb as he slept quietly. Susan put a hand to her mouth as if to stop herself from squealing. Molly touched his cheek gently and cooed over him.

"He's beautiful." Izzy said and Susan and Molly agreed.

"He's 7lbs 9 ounces and came into the world kicking and screaming at 1015." Alex beamed down at his new born son and George couldn't help but smile. Alex looked 10 times better than he did the last time George saw him. He was clean shaven and his eyes were red, but a better red; a red that showed he was happy about having his new baby in his arms. He looked clean and like he lost a couple of pounds since he had seen George. George was thankful that he talk with Alex had given him the tiny push he needed to reconcile things with Lexie and to be happy about having another baby.

"Congratulations." Thatcher said patting Alex's shoulder gently. Alex smiled back thanks and stared down at the baby.

"Can we see Lexie now?" Susan asked.

"She's a bit tired but, Meredith's still with her so I think she's still awake." He said as he led them down the hallway to Lexie's room. It was a light pink colour and the lamp beside her bed gave the room a warm orange tinge. Lexie was lying down talking to Meredith. She looked tired and pale but she smiled brightly as she saw her family enter the room. Meredith got out of the chair beside Lexie's bed and helped her sit up. Alex passed the baby to her and she smiled down at him.

"Isn't he perfect?" Lexie asked her mother. Susan kissed her daughter's head and George noticed the tears in her eyes.

"Perfect is a small word compared to him." Lexie beamed up at her mother."

"How do you feel?" Izzy asked.

"Exhausted, but exhilarated at the same time." She smiled. "I'm just waiting for myself to crash."

"Should be any minute now. What a long day." Meredith said with a sigh and rested her head on the chair. Molly snorted and sat on the arm of the chair.

"This is what you have to look forward to Mer. 7 hours of painful labour." Lexie teased.

"But you get to hold your baby in your arms." Susan added and Lexie nodded. Meredith nodded and then looked nervously around the room at 14 pairs of eyes staring back at her.

"What?" She asked self consciously.

"You never told us that you were pregnant!" Molly said with a frown. Meredith looked at her mother with a puzzled expression.

"I told Mom and just figured that you all knew." Susan looked offended but then smiled and shrugged. Molly shook her head and chuckled. She wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulder and congratulated her.

"You know, I thought you had looked kinda pudgy these days." George said with a smirk. His sister smacked his arm and then hugged him.

"I'm not that far along, at least 7 weeks." She said with a playful smirk and George shrugged. He looked at Lexie and noticed that she had fallen asleep.

"Looks like she's crashed." He said and everyone looked towards Lexie. Susan bent down and kissed her daughter then picked up her sleeping grandson. She kissed his head lightly and passed him to Alex. She kissed him goodbye too and they all filed out of the room, after saying their own goodbyes. They quietly walked through the hospital talking about the new baby. In the parking lot they went their separate ways; Molly drove Susan and Thatcher home, Meredith went home by herself and George drove Izzy home.

The drive to Izzy's apartment was quiet, both of their thoughts were on the new baby. George noticed that Izzy was biting her bottom lip, which she only did when she was worried or troubled by something.

"Where's your mind?" George copied her and she shrugged.

"Well, it's just…There's going to be three grandchildren by next Christmas. What's going to make our baby special?" She said with a frown.

"What?" He asked her puzzled.

"Lexie's had the first granddaughter and grandson and Meredith will finally have her baby, the Miracle Baby. Don't get me wrong I love them to pieces but what will our baby be?" George looked at her and noticed that she was serious. He pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building and parked the car. He turned to her and she studied her hands.

"Our baby will be special because it is ours." Izzy nodded and sighed.

"I know, I guess…I don't know. Am I being stupid?"

"Not at all." George smiled. "Yes our baby wont be the first grandson or granddaughter on my side, but your parents don't have any grandchildren and their only way of obtaining them is threw you." Izzy nodded and smiled. George grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Listen, let's get married before we start talking about babies." She smiled brighter and kissed him.

"October 3rd then." She said with a grin.

"October 4th we can start talking about babies. October 3rd is our day." He kissed her again and she opened the door.

"Wanna stay over tonight?" She said with a grin and George chuckled.

"Don't you know the answer to that question?" He said and unbuckled his seat belt. She laughed and closed her door.

------

George hung up the phone and put a check mark next to the word vehicles. Izzy had given him a checklist of things he needed to do for the wedding. She gave him the list after she had confessed that she felt too overwhelmed and that she was planning the wedding all by herself. So George told her to give him jobs that they didn't need to do together. She gave him jobs such as organizing the limo, paying for the church and hiring the musicians and dj.

Susan came into the kitchen as George was leaving a message on his friend, Tony's answering machine. Tony was a friend from high school and he mixed every now and again. He put the phone down when he saw Susan's serious expression and went and sat at the table with her.

"What's wrong Mom?" George said, spotting the little black box in her hands. She took a deep breath and he could see her forcing the tears back.

"I'm sick George." She said calmly.

"I know Mom." George touched her smooth hand and she smiled slightly.

"I wanted to give you this before…" her voice faltered and George felt a stabbing pain in his chest.

"Mom, please. You have to be there for the wedding." He practically begged. She gave him a half smile and stared at the box.

"I will George, I promise." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "But I wanted to give you this."

"What is it?" He asked as she slid the box across the table. He opened the lid and looked at her confused. "It's a key."

"It opens an old trunk in the basement." He studied her face and she sighed.

"There are things, of mine, in there for each of you."

"Why are you giving this to me?" He said picking up the key and feeling the cool metal on his finger tips.

"Meredith is most likely to lose it, Molly wouldn't wait till I was…well she just naturally curious and Lexie's too emotional at the moment. I know you'll keep it safe, where you'll remember it and wait till I'm…gone." She said with a grim expression.

"Mom…"

"I want you to call the girls and open the chest together, at an appropriate time of course." She gave a tired sigh and patted his hand. "You do that for me, wont you Georgie?" He choked at his nickname and felt tears in his eyes. He looked down and took a deep breath.

"Of course Mom." He said without looking at her for he was too afraid to meet her eyes. He heard her get up and then felt her arms wrap around his shoulders. She stroked his hair as she had when he was a child and the tears poured from his face.

"Shh…it's ok honey." Susan whispered.

"Mom, what am I going to do?" George sobbed

"What do you mean?" She knelt in front of him and this reminded him of his child hood even more.

"Without you? What will I do when your not here? Who will I call when I don't know how to fix something or when I've messed up?" Her smiled faded and she gripped both of his hands firmly.

"That's what your sisters are for. I'm sure Molly will love putting you in your place and Lexie can help you with your other problems, along with Meredith." She said with a smile and George nodded and wiped his face, embarrassed all of a sudden. He studied his mother's face.

"I'm gonna miss you." He whispered and her smile faltered and tears sprang into her eyes. She smiled a minute longer and then touched his cheek.

"Me too." She whispered. She took a deep breath and pulled away. "But it will be ok." She said with a semi confident smile.

"Promise?" He stuck out his pinky finger and she stared at it. It had been their special thing when he was growing up. Whenever he was unsure she would pinky swear that it was going to be ok. Like the time he fell off his bike and scraped his knee or when he failed a math test . She stared at his finger and let out a shaky breath. She wrapped her small, shaky finger around his and smiled up at him.

"Promise."


	14. Susan

"Hello?" Susan said as she answered the ringing phone.

"Hi Mom."

"Alexandra? How are you?" Susan said with a smile.

"Fine; better. It's a lot easier to sit down now." Lexie said with a chuckle. "And it's so good to be home. Don't get me wrong I love staying with Meredith but there's just something about having your own place." Susan nodded in agreement.

"How's the baby?"

"He's perfect Mom. He's settling into the family quite nicely."

"How is Lynn doing with him?" Susan asked as she flipped through a stack of mail the kitchen counter.

"Mom, she's so funny. She kept telling Alex that Jonny is the baby inside my tummy and when he cries she runs to him and rubs his head and says 'shh baby its ok' just like I do." Susan laughed as she pictured her two year old granddaughter.

"So you're all settled then? No more stuff at Meredith's?"

"Nope, all cleared out. And just in time too. She's gotta start planning the nursery." Lexie said.

"I heard. Her due dates November 27th right?" Susan said with a sigh.

"That's what she told me." Both women fell silent as they thought about everything that Meredith had been through over the past couple of years.

"We have to stay positive for her." Susan said.

"I know. But I have a feeling that this baby might be the one." Susan nodded and smiled. She heard a plate crash and the tiny sobs in the background.

"Uh oh."

"Oh Lynn! I told you not to climb on the table!" Lexie scolded her daughter. "Mom I gotta go."

"Oh bye honey." And Susan hung up the phone.

"Who's that?" Thatcher called from the living room. Susan grabbed two mugs and poured coffee into them before she went into the living room. She handed one cup to Thatcher who was sitting on the couch watching TV and snuggled up beside him. She let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes.

"Who was on the phone?" He said lightly into her hair.

"Oh just Lexie. She's defiantly got her hands full with Lynn and the new baby." Susan smiled and looked up at him. "Remember how crazy it was after Molly was born?"

"Remember how crazy it was after they were all born?" He said with a chuckle.

"Amazing how time goes by that quickly. Our babies are having babies." She said with a sigh. Thatcher rested his head on hers and became aware of her sudden sniffling and her quivering shoulders.

"What's wrong?" He said sitting up straighter.

"Nothing, I'm just tired that's all." She answered wiping her face. He turned off the TV and placed his mug on the coffee table. He turned to look at her and she peered up at him. The tears streamed down her cheeks and the pain in her eyes alone broke his heart.

"What is it?" He asked in a softer tone. She sighed and wiped her cheeks.

"I'm scared." She whispered. Thatcher watched her for a second and the pulled her into his arms, as he had so many times before. He said nothing; just let her cry into his chest. She hadn't cried before about her cancer but he knew that she was getting too tired to hope and to fight. Seeing this emotion in her caused him to become speechless.

"What can I do? I don't know how to stop this?" She whispered between sobs. He choked and couldn't respond." I…what if I don't make it to George's wedding?" Susan sobbed and he got his voice back.

"You'll make it. I'll make sure you make it." He said and she gave him a slight smile. He kissed her gently and she sighed.

"How did we end up like this? Look at everything that we've been through, and its going to end…like this?"

"This isn't the end, just a temporary separation." He said with a smile, but she didn't fall for it. "Your whole life you've fought for the things that you want and the people that your love and now-"

"I'm going out giving up." She looked frustrated.

"You're going _out_ fighting. You're not going to give up until it's absolutely necessary." She smiled at his confidence in her. She wiped her face and took a sip of her coffee, which soothed her.

"I don't know how I would cope without you." She said.

"You don't know how many times I'm asking myself that now." He said with a sad smile. She teared up again and the only thing he could think of was to kiss her. Her familiar lips touched his with the same love and passion as they had since they had first kissed, but they quivered slightly with fear and sadness and that was a feeling he would never forget.

------

Thatcher walked into their bedroom at 1030. The light beside Susan was still on and she had fallen asleep reading, like she did every night. He leaned against the doorframe and took a mental picture. He studied her calm face. It was still the same face that he had fallen in love with, only it had a few more characteristics to it.

She looked so peaceful and calm that he was afraid to move, but he knew she would be more comfortable if she was lying down properly, instead of leaning on the pillows. He took the book from her hands and she stirred slightly.

"What is it?" She asked sleepily/

"Nothing Sweetheart, just go back to sleep." He took out one of the pillows from behind her and she squirmed down the bed. She turned on her side and fell back to sleep. Her wig had moved out of place as she had gotten into the position that she was in now and it showed the tiny pale hairs, on her smooth scalp that had never really had the chance to grow back. He took the wig gently off her head and placed it on the manikin on her dresser. He switched off the light and noticed the way the moon shone on her face, through the window. He was struck by a memory of when they first met. The way the light made her face look so peaceful, so angelic…

_Flashback_

_ Walking into his father's clothing factory, 18 year old Thatcher listened to the buzzing sowing machines and the quiet voices of the women working away. He looked across the rows of women as he made his way to his father's office and caught a glimpse of a smiling girl, about 16, with long brown curly hair tied back with a blue ribbon. She was smiling and laughing at something that girl in front of her was saying and her blue eyes twinkled with pure amusement. _

_ He was transfixed by her beauty and her smile. He wanted to be the person to cause that smile. He was so lost in her that he didn't even hear his father approach him._

_ "Some pretty girls out there huh?" His father said, startling him. He patted his son on the back and chuckled when he noticed that he scared him._

_ "They are." Thatcher agreed and casually glanced back at the girl._

_ "Her name's Susan Fitzgerald." His father said, knowing which girl that had caught his son's eye._

_ "She's new here, isn't she?" Thatcher said, glancing at his father briefly._

_ "She's been here about two months now." _

_ "I've never noticed her before."_

_ "You should come by more often." His father said with some bitterness to his tone. Thatcher chose to ignore it. His father sighed. "You should go and talk to her."_

_ "Maybe later." He blushed._

_ "What's the matter? Nervous?"_

_ "No, I'm defiantly not nervous of a girl." He said blushing a darker red._

_ "Come on, I'll introduce you. Hey Susan," The girl looked up at them with a smile. Her gaze flicked to Thatcher and then back to his father. "Come here for a second."_

_ "Father no!" Thatcher groaned quietly. His father just turned and winked at him. The girl slowly approached with a look of curiosity on her face. _

_ "Susan this is my son Thatcher. Thatch this is the new girl, Susan. You know the one that I was telling you about." He winked at his son and Thatcher inwardly groaned._

_ "Hi." She said with a bright smile._

_ "Nice to meet you." He said sticking out his hand politely. She looked at him for a second and then shook his hand. He was surprised at the softness of her hand in his and how they seemed to fit together life a puzzle piece. She smiled up at him and that's when he knew, this was the girl for him_

_End Flashback_

He smiled as he climbed into the bed beside her and turned to look at her. He remembered what it had been like in the beginning. At first she had been stubborn and gave him every excuse not to go out with him; she wasn't comfortable dating her boss's son, she wasn't interested in dating at the moment, she had a boyfriend. But when he convinced her to go see a movie as a non-date, he knew that he had won that battle. For the next two years they dated consistently, only breaking up once when they had an argument over what they wanted their lives to be like. She wanted kids and he didn't, so she said they wanted different things and would never live a happy life together and broke up with him. He shortly realized that he wanted her more than anything else and decided making a few exceptions wouldn't hurt him too much.

They were married on April 26th. 1975. They spent one year, just the two of them, happy and traveling the globe. January 15 1977, Meredith Joan Grey was born and turned their world upside down. What Thatcher remembers the most is the late night feedings and the way that Susan would cry about nothing and no matter what he did he couldn't sooth her. After the first three months, things started to become easier and they settled into a nice routine. The small family lived in a tiny, 2 bedroom apartment for almost 3 years before the place started to become crowded.

When Susan became pregnant for the second time, Thatcher went on the hunt for a bigger house. He came upon the house that they currently lived in, by accident. He had gotten lost on his way to see a slightly bigger apartment and found the house. It was a little bit over their budget but he knew that Susan would like it. So with the help of his parents they bought the house and two weeks later, on December 23, 1980, Molly Sarah Grey was born.

This time was entirely new experience for them. Molly was constantly sick, in and out of the hospital with colds and infections. He remembered the countless times that he thought they were going to lose this tiny baby and this made his bond with Molly that much stronger. After her first birthday, her immune system seemed to kick in and she never experienced a near death moment again. Life settled down, like it normally does, and they had the perfect little family.

March 7th 1986, Alexandra Marie and David Jonathan Grey were born. It seemed to him that every time Susan had a baby he never truly seemed prepared for what they were about to experience. Alexandra was a colicky baby and cried a lot, where as David was quiet and peaceful and never really cried too much. It was a big adjustment having 4 children all under the age of 10, and also expensive. So to help with the expenses, Susan got a part time job and hired a babysitter from down the street.

One day, Susan picked up the girls from school and pulled into the driveway. That whole day she had felt like something was wrong and when there was no car in the drive way her suspicions only grew stronger. She opened the door and called out a greeting, which was copied by 8 year old Meredith and 5 year old Molly. When no one answered Susan started to panic and raced upstairs to the twins' bedroom. Lexie was sound asleep in her crib, but the crib across from her was empty. Susan phoned the cops and told them that her baby had been kidnapped.

For 2 agonizingly, painfully long weeks they worried about their lost son. Then he was found, abandoned in a ditch at the side of the road. He was wearing a blue sleeper with yellow ducks on it and wrapped in a white blanket, dead. The woman they had hired had just lost her baby boy to pneumonia and had been suffering from depression. She thought that David could fill the void of her lost baby and when she realized that it was more work that she had thought she panicked and placed the baby somewhere that he would be found. Susan had screamed when the police told her and Thatcher had carried her up to bed so she could calm down. The funeral passed by in a blur and Susan fell into a depression that she couldn't shake.

Eventually Susan came out of her depression and around this time she started attending church. She would pray for the soul of her baby and would tell the girls to pray for the baby's soul too. Attending church seemed to help her and it brought back the woman that Thatcher had always known. But her eyes didn't twinkle as much and he would catch her sometimes with a sad look on her face.

September 14th, 1988 George Thomas Grey was born and Susan became a stay at home mom, too afraid to trust anyone again. With the birth of George came the decision that 4 children was enough. She devoted her entire life to her children and raised them to be the best people they could be.

Thatcher thought about his children and noticed that each one had a gained a specific quality from Susan. Meredith was the responsible kid, ready to take on whatever needed to be done with no questions asked. In her teenage years she became a best friend to her mother and a substitute mother to her siblings when her mother was not present. Molly was the fighter. She was the one who worked hard for what she got and never let anything stand in her way. Failing was not an option for Molly and she took it as a challenge to work harder. Lexie was peaceful and calm. She was the one who soothed out conflicts between others and was normally the one who listened to both sides before giving her opinion. This left George. Finding the part of Susan in George was hard. Apart from the bright blue eyes and the dark hair George was very much like Thatcher. He was chubby as a child, and athletic as a teen. He flirted with every girl in school and never fully committed himself to anything. But when Thatcher thought hard about George he realized that George had inherited Susan's sense of humor. Susan had the ability to make everyone in the room laugh with just one sentence and George had this same quality. Like Susan, George enjoyed jumping out of a closet and scaring someone, or concocting harmless little pranks, such as tying a rubber spider to a rope and dangling it over his sisters' head.

Thatcher smiled as he thought about all of his children. He remembered hoe sad Susan had been when the girls all left the "nest". He remembered the look of pure pride on his wife's face when each one of them graduated high school and when they got married. He remembered Susan's tears of happiness on the day that Lynn was born. But the face that he would never forget, he saw on June 2, 2008.

_Flashback_

_Susan had been in the shower for a long time and Thatcher was patiently waiting downstairs, for her to finish. They had planned to visit old family friends who lived in Toronto and they were running a bit behind. Susan had been feeling tired lately and she tended to do things at a slower pace these days and this irritated him just a bit._

_ "Susan come on." He said as he knocked on the bathroom door. As he turned to go back downstairs the door opened and steam flowed out into the hallway. Susan stood staring at him, in only her underwear. She was completely dry, hadn't even showered yet. He sighed with frustration. "We're going to be late." He said and then noticed the tears in her eyes and the look of horror on her face. He suddenly felt awful for being impatient with her when she was clearly upset about something. "What is it?" He asked as he gently touched her arm._

_ "I have a lump." He watched the words leave her lips but didn't hear them. He stared at her not actually seeing her._

_ "P-Pardon?" He asked shaking his head._

_ "I HAVE A LUMP! ON MY BREAST! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? A LUMP!" She shouted through her tears and he snapped back to reality. He saw the tears and pulled her into his arms._

_ "It's ok." He said, thinking only the worst, but trying to stop her from thinking the worst._

_ "It's not ok!" She sobbed and pulled away. Her face was angry and frustrated but her eyes were full of fear. "It means cancer, Thatcher." He let out a shaky breath and stared at his wife._

_ "Not necessarily." Her mouth opened in defense and he held up his hands to stop her. "Don't start freaking out until you know for sure." As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it._

_ "FREAKING OUT?" she screamed. "THIS IS MY LIFE I'M FREAKING OUT ABOUT!" He sighed again._

_ "I didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry." She took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror. "Let's make an appointment for tomorrow and get it checked." He said calmly and she sighed._

_ "Ok." _

_ "Ok." He nodded and turned to leave. He wanted to be by himself when he started freaking out._

_ "Thatch?" she called him just as he reached the stairs. She was standing in the hallway, wrapped in a towel. "What if I do have cancer?" She said with a look of horror on her face. He walked back to her and studied her face. He gently kissed her lips and sighed._

_ "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."_

_ The next day they were sitting in the waiting room. Susan had been tested and they were just waiting for her scans. A small blonde nurse, of about 23, called out their name and smiled at them as she lead them down a narrow hallway. She stopped at a small room and they walked into the room._

_ "Just have a seat and the doctor will be right with you." She said to them, for the third time that day. Susan sat on the table while Thatcher stood beside her holding her hand tightly._

_ 10 minutes later the door opened and Meredith walked in. She smiled slightly and then closed the door._

_ "So?" Thatcher said anxiously and felt Susan give his hand a squeeze. They both knew, from the way that Meredith avoided eye contact, what the results were. Meredith looked up briefly and tears were in her eyes._

_ "Mom you-you have…"her lip quivered and she started to sob. Susan got down off the exam table and went to Meredith's side. She gently held her daughter's arms and looked her directly in the face._

_ "Say it Meredith. Come on, it's ok." Meredith took a deep breath and looked her mother in the face._

_ "Mom you have…stage 4 Breast Cancer." As the words left her mouth Meredith's whole body shuddered and Susan held her steady so she wouldn't fall down. Thatcher felt like he had just been punched in the chest. His heart hurt and he couldn't breath. He stood back and watched his wife with amazement. She had taken a moment to let it sink in and addressed the situation in front of her._

_ "Shh honey it's ok." Susan said, wrapping her arms around her sobbing daughter. "Here sit down." She lead Meredith to a chair and Meredith plopped down. Susan handed Meredith a box of tissues and Meredith wiped her face with one._

_ "Look at us. You're comforting me when I just told you that you have…"she couldn't say the word. The two women sat studying each other's faces._

_ "So, how do we get rid of this?" Susan said._

_ "Chemotherapy is our best chance. We can also try surgery but it won't get…all of it." Tears were brimming Meredith's eyes again. "I'm sorry Mom."_

_ "It's not your fault honey." Susan said with a sad smile._

_ "I know I just cant do anything to help you." Susan thought about this for a moment and then smiled slightly._

_ "You can actually." Meredith looked up at her mother with curiosity._

_ "Don't tell the others."_

_End Flashback_

So here they were a year and a half later and she was still fighting. After Christmas they had agreed to Surgery and told the kids they were going on a vacation. And it went smoothly. Surgery had been good for a while and things had started to look better. But the cancer came back, more aggressively and they were told it was only a matter of time.

He felt a warm hand on his cheek and opened his eyes. Susan was looking at him with a worried/sleepy expression.

"You're crying?" She whispered. He wiped his face and looked at her. He took a deep breath to stop himself from crying but the tears poured down his face.

"Shh…it's ok honey." Those words forever burned into his memory.


	15. The Wedding

Izzy stood in front of a mirror and studied her reflection. She looked anxious yet excited. Her brown eyes sparkled with anticipation and she let out a shaky breath.

"Well this is it." She said looking in the mirror at Meredith who stood close behind her. Meredith smiled back and nodded. Izzy picked up the bottom of her long white dress and turned to the rest of the people in the room. She was accompanied by her mother and her wedding party. Her wedding party was small, consisting of two friends from work, Meredith and her cousin, who she was very close with. They all wore dark red dresses with crystal like beads along the top of the dress. Each dress was spacious and "flowy", as Izzy called it, and touched the ground so their feet were covered. Which let each girl chose her own shoes. So Meredith, being 8 months pregnant wore nice gold flats. Izzy smiled at her bridesmaids and tears formed in her eyes.

"I'm getting married." She said and some of the girls squealed. Meredith remembered what it had been life when she was marrying Derek. Every emotion was coursing through her body; happiness, sadness, anticipation and anxiety. So being the maid-of-honor Meredith took initiative and started passing out the bouquets.

The bridesmaid's bouquets were 6 white roses and had a red cloth with tiny pearls sown into it, covering the stem, and acting as a handle. Izzy bouquet was bigger. It had 12 red roses with tiny white daisies surrounding it and she had a white cloth as the handle. She smiled gratefully as Meredith handed the bouquet to her and turned back to take one last look. Her make up was perfect and her long blonde hair was in a French twist with tiny red flowers in it. She wore a tiny tiara on the top of her head which was attached to a veil and it hung loosely down her back.

"Ok, so here is something blue." Her friend, Tosha said bringing forward a light blue garter. Izzy smirked as she carefully sat down and it on.

"And here's something borrowed." Kylie, Izzy's cousin said, handing her a linen handkerchief. Izzy smiled and tucked it neatly into the handle of her bouquet and then kissed her cousin.

"Thank you. I think I'm going to need this now." Izzy said wiping her eyes carefully. Kylie gave her a wink and then stepped back.

"I have something new." Her mother said. She stepped forward and handed her daughter a little red box. Izzy smiled at her mother and then opened the box. There were two pearl diamond earrings in them and Izzy smiled at her mother.

"Thank you so much. I was kind of worried when you told me not to buy Jewelry." All the women chuckled and Izzy put the earrings on. She kissed her mother and looked at herself in the mirror.

"What about something old?" Jenn, Izzy's friend, said. Izzy bit her lip and looked around the room.

"I have something old." Said a shaky voice from the back of the room. The crowd parted and Susan appeared. Meredith smiled and watched her mother carefully walk forward. She was wearing a pale pink, mother-of-the-groom dress and it looked beautiful on her. It was long and had short sleeves and a nice white jacket to accompany it. She had bought a nice new wig and it was curly and her make up was perfect. She held out her hands to her soon to be daughter-in-law and Meredith saw that it was a long white box. As Izzy opened it, tears sprang into her eyes and she looked at Susan with worry.

"It's for you to keep." Susan said and a tear streamed down her face. "It was my mother's something new at her wedding, and my something borrowed at my wedding."

"Mine too." Meredith said with a smile. Her mother looked at her worried for a second but Meredith shrugged and smiled.

"It's beautiful." Izzy said.

"Put it on." Izzy's mother spoke. "We want to see it." Izzy held out the box to Susan and she smiled. She lifted the necklace out of the box and fastened it around Izzy's neck. It was a gold chain that fell just a couple of inches above Izzy's dress. It had a diamond encrusted heart on it and it seemed to suit Izzy's dress perfectly.

"It's gorgeous." Jenn exclaimed and the other's agreed with her.

"Thank you." Izzy said to Susan and the looked around the room. "You've all been extremely helpful." They all beamed back at her.

There was a knock at the door and Izzy's father came in. "Ready?' He said looking only at her. Meredith could that his eyes were glossy and she linked arms with Susan and walked out of the room. The rest of the wedding party followed queue and left the three of them in the room, so they could have a moment together.

"That was really sweet of you to give the necklace to her, Mom." Meredith said.

"You're not upset?" Susan said looking at her carefully.

"No, not really." Meredith said with a shrug. "I understand."

"Just don't tell your sisters. They'll freak out." Meredith chuckled and helped her mom down the stairs and out the doors to the awaiting cars.

-----

Lexie rushed around the apartment picking up toys and other things that she would need to bring with them. She had gotten both kids dressed and ready, but still had to get ready herself. She looked at the clock as she started getting the formula ready. They had 10 minutes until they had to leave and she still had curlers in her hair. She felt the familiar waves of exhaustion and frustration take over her and she leaned on the counter taking long deep breaths, to stop herself from crying. She felt two strong arms wrap around her waist at just the right moment and she sighed.

"What's wrong babe?" He whispered into her ear and kissed her neck.

"I feel…stressed out." She said wiping away a tear. "I haven't even gotten ready yet."

"I think you look beautiful." He said kissing her again and she gave a snort of disbelief. But he was telling her that a lot these days. He would tell her she looked beautiful at times where she thought she looked her worst, like now standing at the kitchen sink in baggy sweat pants and an old t-shirt.

"I just have a couple more things to do before I'll get ready." She said picking up the clean bottles and scooping formula into them.

"I'll do that. You go and get ready." He said, taking the scoop from her hand. She looked at him in his suit and black tie and remembered their wedding day. They hadn't really changed that much in the few years that they had been married and Lexie still felt the same way as she had when she married him, despite everything in the past year. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

"Thanks." She said and dashed off to the bathroom. It took her two minutes to do her makeup and 10 minutes to get dresses and hairspray her hair. She looked in the mirror and smiled. She had let her hair grown since Jon was born and it was now in big brown curls. Her dress was a dark purple strapless chiffon dress, by La Femme. The strapless top had a sweetheart neckline with a fitted bust. Below the bust, the chiffon was delicately pleated giving it a soft elegant look. It was snug around her waist but in the 4 months since Jon was born she was almost back to her original size.

She realized that she was as ready as she could be and opened the door. Alex was at the front door singing a song called Wags the Dog, a song that he had learned from constant reruns of the same Wiggles DVD, with Lynn. He was helping her put her coat on and was having a difficult time getting her arms into the sleeves.

Lexie smiled proudly at her daughter. She was wearing a light pink dress and it had a big round skirt with sparkles and a bow at the back. She wore a pink bow in her hair and her blonde curls were extra curly today. Jon was already in his car seat, bundled up against the possible chill and he looked around the room with his dark brown eyes and a serious expression.

"Whoa." Alex said startling her. She smirked.

"What do you think?" She said turning around. 'Because I wasn't really sure from the whoa."

"What do you think Lynn?" He said playfully squinting his eyes at her dress and Lynn looked at him and copied his expression. Then she smiled brightly and laughed.

"Weally Pwetty Momma." She said.

"Agreed." Alex said and she smiled at both of them.

"Thank you." She said kissing her daughter's cheek and then kissing her husband. He helped her into her coat and then picked up Lynn.

"Race you to the car." Lynn laughed.

"Not fair! I cant wun." She said with a shriek as he bounced down the stairs and gave an evil laugh. Lexie shook her head and picked up Jon. She locked up the apartment and followed her family out to the car,

-----

Molly and Owen were seated on the right side of the church third pew from the front. Molly looked around and spotted a few people that she knew from around the town or old family friends. She sat back and sighed deeply as she spotted her baby brother standing at the altar in a nice black tux. Derek stood beside him and he was giving him words of advice as he straightened George's tie. She remembered standing at that very spot when she had married Owen. She smiled proudly at her brother. Next thing she knew Lexie was at her side.

"Hi." She whispered as she kissed her sister's cheek and waved to Owen. Lynn smiled up brightly at Molly and Molly couldn't help but smiling back at the adorable three year old. Lexie struggled to help Lynn take her coat off. Molly waved to Alex and held out her hands indicating that she wanted to hold Jonathan.

"Where's Mom?" Lexie asked looking behind her. Molly shrugged and smiled at the curious baby in her arms. He was studying her face so seriously that she gave a chuckle. Owen cuddled up closer to her and peered over her shoulder at the baby.

"He's so big now." Owen said to Lexie and she nodded with motherly pride.

"Jackson must be pretty big now." She said, looking hesitantly at Molly. Callie and Owen had agreed on joint custody so Jackson spent every other week at their house. He was just starting to crawl so he was under constant supervision, which was sometimes difficult when Molly was trying to work in her office. But when he wasn't there, the house seemed oddly empty; a feeling that she never felt before Jackson existed.

"He's just under 10 months." Owen said with a smile.

"You should bring Jonny over and the two of them can have a play date." Molly said to her sister with a chuckle and Lexie shook her head at her sister's sarcastic humor.

"What's wrong with a play date?" Owen said, confused.

"We swore we would never be _those_ kinda of moms." Lexie said with an amused tones.

"And here we are, cooing over babies and arranging get together's so the boys could become friends." Molly chuckled.

"So, onto a completely different topic."

"As normal with you." Molly teased and Lexie lifted her chin and ignored it.

"Anyways… Mom gave Izzy the necklace." She said with a slight look of annoyance.

"Well it was to be expected." Molly said with a shrug. "We always knew that he would end up getting it in the end."

"3 girls and 1 boy and HE get's the necklace." Lexie said with a chuckle and Molly shook her head. "So black huh?"

"It's not black its navy blue. And you're just full of topics today." Molly answered.

"Its okay to wear black to weddings these days, as long as your not the mother of either party." Lexie said with a chuckle.

"It's not black." Molly said looking at her sister with a defiant look which slowly faded into a grin, because she too knew it was black. She was a little bit weary of wearing black to a wedding, but she had seen the dress and fell in love with it. It was a black Faviana Couture dress that fit her toned body perfectly. It was a cocktail dress that stopped just above her knees and had a sweetheart neckline and a faux wrap bodice. The empire waist flattered her natural curves, or lack of them and it had a low-cut open back design which Molly covered with a lacy black shawl. Plus it went perfectly with her favorite pair of Jimmy Choos.

Susan and Thatcher appeared beside Owen and they all shifted down the pew to make room for them. Molly noticed how pale her mother was and how shaky her hands were went she grabbed the pew in front so she could sit down. She quickly glanced at Lexie, who was clearly noticing the same things, but she smiled and said, "Mum you look beautiful." Susan smiled at her youngest daughter.

"That's what I told her." Thatcher said, giving them a wink of encouragement. Molly sighed and studied the baby in her arms, willing herself to not cry.

"Look at my baby up there." Her mother said with a sad sigh. They all looked towards George who was staring down the aisle nervously.

"He looks like he's going to puke." Alex said and Owen chuckled.

"You all looked that way on your wedding day." Susan said, her eyes never leaving her son. Alex and Owen nodded their heads, remembering how they felt on their wedding day.

"But it was the best day of your life, right?" Molly said with a warning tone, but she couldn't keep the amusement from her face.

"Oh, yea, of course." He said glancing slightly at Alex and giving him a wink. He smirked at Molly and she shook her head, yet smiled.

"I can't believe it." Susan said with a sigh. "All grown up."

"Our babies are all married now, or they will be soon." Thatcher said, wrapping an arm around his wife.

"Who will we take care of?" She said sadly.

"Other than each other?" He asked her and she smiled at him. Then she felt a small hand on her lap and looked into two bright blue eyes.

"Guess we have three more people to help take care of." Thatcher said picking up his granddaughter and kissing her cheek. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck and then the music started.

"HUH! Whassthat?" Lynn said the words as one.

"Shh…it's starting." Molly heard Thatcher say to her and she smiled brightly. As they stood, Molly slipped her hand into Owens and smiled brightly.

-----

The wedding went without a problem. Even the vows were said perfectly. George had been nervous at first but when he saw Izzy walking down the isle, and she smiled at him, he knew that he really had nothing to be nervous about. When he slid the cool gold ring around her finger it all became so real to him. This was what he wanted; they would live together and have children and grow old together. He felt the burning sting of tears in his eyes, but pushed them away.

It had been a little chaotic after the ceremony with all the people congratulating them and the picture being taken, but she held his hand tightly and they got through it. The day was beautiful and sunny and their pictures were turning out great, but there was a cool breeze and the pictures ended earlier than planned.

Dinner and speeches passed by in a blur of laughter and tears. Their dinner went cold as they walked around the hall greeted people and thanking them for attending their wedding, but they didn't seem to mind. When Tony the DJ announced the bride and grooms first dance, people whistled and went quiet. George held Izzy's hand and led her to the dance floor. The song When You Say Nothing At All by Allison Krause started to play and the couple started to sway to the music.

"You look amazing. Did I tell you that yet?" George whispered into her ear.

"I think this is the first chance we've had to talk to each other." She chuckled and smiled up at him.

"Can you believe we did it?" He asked her.

"I believe it, but it doesn't feel real yet." She said. He kissed her gently and the song ended.

"Thank you for the dance Mr. Grey." He said with a playful smile.

"My pleasure, Mrs. Grey." He said kissing her again.

"I like the sound of that. Isabelle Grey." She held him tightly and the music started to play again. He felt a tap on his shoulder and let Izzy's father sweep her away. He watched her smile and laugh as her father spoke to her. He felt happy and excited to have this new adventure in his life and to be experiencing it with his best friend.

"You have a beautiful wife." His father said from behind him. George smiled at both of his parents and nodded. She was beautiful and she was his wife.

-----

Helen pulled down the sheets of her old bed and climbed in. It was oddly comforting being at home and seeing your old room has barely changed since you left it, 13 years ago. She looked at the paintings she had left behind and the desk where she used to do her homework or talk to her friends on then phone. It was there that she had struggled with her algebra. And the side of the bed that she was sleeping on, she had knelt beside it and begged God that she wasn't pregnant, after losing her virginity to her 16 year old boyfriend, Chuck. She felt life a teenager again, despite her large stomach and husband climbing into the bed next to her. He sighed and rubbed his face.

"What a day." He said. He smelt, faintly, of beer and scotch, giving her and indication as to what sort of state he would be in tomorrow.

"I can't believe my baby brother is married. I feel so old." Meredith said with a sigh and Derek chuckled.

"It's hard to believe that was us, almost 6 years ago." He said with a yawn. His arm draped over stomach and he rested his chin on her shoulder. Meredith smiled and closed her eyes. She was just dozing off when she felt a swift kick to her stomach, right where Derek's arm was. She opened her eyes and saw Derek raise his head and look at her stomach.

"He kicked me." Derek said trying to sound appalled.

"She's a bit protective." She answered caressing her stomach. Derek narrowed his eyes at her playfully. They had decided to keep the sex of the baby a surprise and they joked with each other about the sex of the baby, but neither one objected to a boy or a girl.

"Well, that's defiantly not acceptable. We'll just have to-" Derek was interrupted by a loud crash from downstairs. Meredith raised herself onto her elbows and Derek sat upright.

"What was that?" He whispered.

"How would I know?" She snapped anxiously back. Derek sighed and lifted the covers.

"Stay here." He said as he opened the door.

"Yea right! And get attacked by murders, I don't think so." Derek rolled his eyes and she jumped, to the best of her ability, out of bed. She held onto him tightly as they walked down the dim hallway. They met Thatcher coming out of him room and the three of them crept down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs they noticed that a light was on in the kitchen and Thatcher motioned for them to stay put but they followed none the less. He pushed open the kitchen door and they all let out a sigh of relief.

Susan was kneeling on the floor picking up pieces of a broken mug. She looked up nervously and smiled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"What were you doing Mom?" Meredith said as Derek bent down to help clean up the glass.

"I was…getting a glass of water and knocked the cup off of the counter." She said with a shrug and Thatcher helped her off the floor.

"It sounded a lot…louder upstairs." Meredith said.

"Sorry. I can be so klutzy sometimes." She said with an amused sigh. Meredith shook her head and kissed her mother.

"Be more careful Mom. We worry about you enough as it is." Meredith meant it as a light warning, but the undertone to the comment hung in the air.

"Only because we love you so much." Derek covered and Susan smiled at him. She kissed his cheek and then her daughter's.

"Good night." She said and they turned and left.

When Thatcher had heard the bedroom door click upstairs he sighed. "Where did you hurt yourself?" He asked and Susan turned towards the sink. He noticed that she was shaking, which she did a lot these days and her breathing was short and light.

"Sue…" He said and she sighed.

"On my hip." She said picking up a tea towel in her unsteady hands. Thatcher sighed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Tell me what happened?" He whispered into her ear.

"I was getting a glass from the top shelf and then I got dizzy. I think I fainted. Ok I know I fainted." She rubbed her eyes. "I was just getting up when you came in." She turned in his arms and looked up at him. 'This is the 4th time this week Thatch."

"You're just working too hard. Today was a long day and your body's tired." Despite his reasonable answer she shook her head.

"It's only going to get worse." A flash of pain and fear went across his face and she wished she could take it back.

"Who says this isn't as bad as it's going to get?" She shook her head. "Personally I think fainting is pretty bad."

"Thatcher, you know it isn't." He sighed and let go of her.

"We can argue this tomorrow. Let's go back to bed." He said turning towards the door. He looked back at her and she was watching him with a sad expression. He raised his eyebrows at her and she sighed then followed him out of the kitchen.


	16. Words

Meredith raced down the highway as fast as her car would let her, trying her hardest not to cry. She took a deep breath and released it. But the tears flowed down her face as she swerved around the cars in the highway. She ignored the blaring horns and angry faces as she thought about what she might face. As she pushed harder on the accelerator she felt a nervous hand press her stomach to 120 km/h.

She rested her hand on her stomach and soothed her baby. She was slightly amazed that she even fit behind the wheel. At 34 weeks pregnant, Meredith could barely fit behind the wheel and on any other day Derek would've normally drove. But on this day she couldn't wait around for Derek.

Derek and Meredith had just sat down to a nice TV dinner. Meredith was very tired these days and never felt like cooking and with Derek's limited culinary skills it left them choosing between take out and TV dinners. It was Meredith's turn to pick a movie to rent and she chose the move Twilight. She had already seen it twice with her sisters when it was in Theaters but Derek swore up and down against watching it. So she rented it, preparing to enjoy tormenting him with the extremely mushy movie. She smirked as he groaned at the first cheesy line.

"Oh come on! You know it's good." Meredith teased and Derek rolled his eyes at her. She sighed and placed her hands on her stomach and settled down to watch the rest of the movie. About halfway through the movie, the phone rang. They both sat still waiting to see if the other would get up to answer it. Meredith look towards Derek and pouted. He sighed.

"I guess anything is better than staying here, watching…this!" He teased as he got off the couch and headed to the kitchen.

"Bring back the bag of ketchup chips when you're done." Meredith called after him with a smile. This was her favorite part of the movie, the meadow scene. She enjoyed this scene better in the book, but it was still her favorite part of the story.

"Meredith," Derek called from the kitchen. "You'd better come and take this." He held out the phone and Meredith sighed. She stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"We really need a cordless phone." She said with a smile, and normally Derek would've responded with a "you'd only lose it" but he just looked back at her with a grim expression. She took the phone from him cautiously and pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Meredith?" Oh Mer! You need to get here! As soon as possible." Izzy's grief stricken voice caused Meredith's heart to start racing.

"What's happened?"

"It's your mom, and it's bad. This might…" she couldn't finish her sentence and Meredith heard her sisters' soft sobs in the background.

"Ok, I'm on my way." She hung up the phone and quickly waddled to the front door.

"I'll drive!" Derek said. "Just let me find my keys." He said as he patted his pockets and disappeared into the living room. Meredith sighed with frustration and checked her watch. If she left now she could be at her mother's house in an hour. She spotted her set of keys on the key rack by the door. She couldn't wait any longer, so she grabbed them and headed out the door without another word. A thought occurred to Meredith as she was driving to her mother's that maybe she should've given Derek her keys. She was turning into her mother's neighbourhood and it didn't really matter now.

She pulled into the long driveway and parked behind Lexie's green Nissan. She climbed out of the car and "raced" to the front door. If flung open before she even thought to reach for the handle. Izzy stood in the doorway looked very worried.

"Meredith!" she sighed, clearly relieved.

"Are they all upstairs?" Meredith asked, giving Izzy a quick hug. The next second Lexie appeared, from the living room, with tears pouring down her cheeks. Meredith's heart broke at the sight of her sister and felt her own eyes tear up again. She wrapped her sister in a tight hug and stroked her hair as she sobbed into Meredith's jacket.

"Sh…it's going to be ok." Meredith soothed. She caught a glimpse of movement on the stairs and looked up to see George looking down at them. His face was full of despair. Meredith released Lexie and took hold of her hand. She had a sudden flashback of the many times she had grabbed one of her sibling's nervous hand and lead them to face their fears.

At the top of the stairs she embraced George in a tight hug. She noticed a warm glow emitting from her parents' room.

"How bad it is?" She asked him. He sighed deeply and rubbed his face.

"She's in and out of consciousness. And when she is awake she doesn't recognize anyone and keeps asking if they found David yet." His eyes glazed over and his mind drifted.

"It's ok George. Don't take it personally." Meredith patted his arm and walked towards the door. She hesitated briefly, before she went into the room.

Susan lay on the bed, dressed in her favorite blue . Her pale head was small and fragile. Her eyes were closed but she didn't look peaceful she looked worried. She looked old and tired and there was a deep crease in her forehead which was normally there when she was worried. Meredith looked away from her mother and saw Molly sitting on a chair beside the bed and Thatcher was looking out the window.

"Hi." Meredith said no louder than a whisper. Both of them turned to look and their faced brightened for a spilt second before falling back to darkness. Molly raced to her side and sobbed heavily. She sobbed the kind of sobs that cause other people to cry and Meredith soon found her sobbing with her. Meredith looked through teary eyes at her father who stood watching them, but not really seeing them.

"How are you doing dad?" She asked as she wiped away the tears on her face. He looked back at her, knew she said something but turned away and stared out the window again. Meredith cried again.

Meredith let go of Molly and sat on the bed beside her mother. She grabbed her mother's hand and noticed that it was very soft and smooth with the occasional wrinkle. She kissed her mother's forehead and said, "Hi Mom", expecting that she wouldn't get a response. But Susan opened her eyes and looked around the room. When her tired blue eyes registered Meredith's face she gave a tired smile.

"Meredith." She sighed.

"Hi Mom." She said again. Meredith heard Molly get up and call for George and Lexie.

"You drove all that way." Susan said with a sigh.

"Of course." Susan nodded and closed her eyes. She gave Meredith's hand a tight squeeze.

"I'm dying you know." She said nonchalantly.

"Mom-" Meredith started but Susan shook her head.

"Don't say anything honey. I just want you to know…"She sighed and her face relaxed. Meredith panicked and felt her mother's wrist for a pulse. She was nervous at first and couldn't find it, but there it was. It was slow and weak but none the less a pulse.

Meredith sighed and lay down on the bed beside her mother, resting her head on her mother's shoulder. She inhaled deeply and breathed in the smell of cinnamon that her mother always smelt like and closed her eyes, ignoring the repeated throbbing in her lower abdomen.

-----

"Meredith." Lexie appeared above her as she opened her eyes. "Mer? Derek's on the phone." Meredith sighed and nodded. She rubbed her face and carefully sat up. She looked around the room and sighed. Molly was cuddled up on the other side of her mother and George was lying at the foot of the bed. Thatcher was still standing at the window. She took a deep breath and Lexie helped her stand up, but as soon as she did she let out a loud cry of pain and sunk to the floor. She felt Lexie's hands tense and then three more pairs of hands on her.

"Meredith?" Thatcher's voice was to her left.

"Are you ok?" George, on the right.

"It's the baby." Molly said from somewhere behind her.

"Is everything alright?" came a tired vaguely familiar voice from somewhere above. Everyone, even Meredith looked toward Susan. She had managed to raise herself onto her elbow and was leaning over the side of the bed, looking down. She looked worried as she stared down at her.

"Mom, you're awake." Molly said, sitting on the bed.

"What's going on?" Susan asked again. "I heard a…scream." Molly helped her lie back on pillows.

"It's Meredith, Mom." Lexie explained. "She's having contractions."

"Well why are you still here then?" She said in her normal Mom voice. Meredith struggled to stand up.

"I…I can't leave you." Meredith said, tears filling her eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're willing to…to put your own child's safety on the line for me?" Susan said and Meredith sighed. "Honey, go. I'll still be here when you get back."

"Promise?" Meredith asked though thick waves of tears. Susan smiled and gave Meredith's hand a reassuring squeeze, but never said a word. Meredith let out a sob.

"Go Meredith! Take care of my grandchild." Susan said and Meredith nodded.

"I'll go call Derek." Lexie said and disappeared down the stairs.

"I'll drive you." Molly said and Meredith shook her head.

"I want you to stay with Mom. I'll call a cab." Meredith said to Molly.

"Don't be ridiculous." Izzy spoke up next. "I can drive you and that way none of you have to leave." They all settled on that solution and turned back to Susan.

"I'm sorry Mom." Meredith said and Susan gave a tired chuckle.

"Go on dear." She said and Meredith kissed her and then her father.

"Make sure you call when he's born." Thatcher said, with a small smile and Meredith didn't have the energy to fight back. As she reached the door she heard the words that she would later replay over and over in her head.

"I love you."


	17. The End and the Beginning

9 hours had passed since Izzy drove Meredith to the hospital. Susan breathed heavily and hadn't opened her eyes since Meredith's departure. Molly and Lexie occupied a large arm chair beside Susan's bed. Lexie slept with her head on Molly's shoulder and Molly rested her head on Lexie's and was also asleep. George was sitting in the doorway, his back pressed against the frame of the door, and he too had fallen asleep. Thatcher stood at the window watching the first snowfall of the year. He sighed and rubbed his face and turned to look at his sick wife. Her face was peaceful; no crease other than her laugh lines touched her face.

He sighed and knelt by the bed. He grabbed her hand and felt it twitch. She was still in there somewhere. He kissed her soft hand and studied her face.

"I'm ready, babe." He whispered into her ear. He watched her face for a response. Instead her breathing changed from slow deep breaths to short soft ones. He kissed her cheek and held her hand tightly.

-----

"…Nine…Ten! Great Job Meredith! Deep breaths." A nurse said encouragingly. Meredith held Derek's hand tightly and prepared herself for the next push. "Ready? Ok and push." As she pushed, sweat formed on her forehead and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"One, two, three…" She heard the nurse begin to count.

"You're doing great babe." Derek said. The sound of her heartbeat filled her ears and everything else faded. It was a slow and throbbing sound. She let out a quick cry and collapsed onto the pillows.

"Almost done, Meredith, almost done. Just a couple more and the baby will be out." The doctor looked up at her over her mask. Meredith shook her head.

"I can't…I can't do this." She said, panting. Derek squeezed her hand, partly nervous and partly confident.

"Mer, come on. You can do this. This is our baby! The one we've been waiting years to have." Meredith shook her head but she knew that he was right. She needed to do this. She wanted to see her baby and hold it in her arms. "Come on." He said again. She took a deep breath.

-----

Susan stirred slightly and Thatcher lifted his head from the bed, to look at her. Her eyes fluttered open and then landed on him.

"Hey" she wheezed.

"Hi." She looked around the room at her sleeping children.

"Do you want me to wake them?" He asked her.

"No…let them sleep. They look so peaceful." He nodded and kissed her hand. "I had the strangest dream."

"Oh yea? About what?"

"Remember that summer we took the kids to the butterfly exhibit? We walked around that meadow like place that had a net over it? And there were tons of butterflies flying around?"

"Yes, George was 6." Thatcher said, remembering the look of awe on George's tiny face.

"Well we were there in my dream. Only we were having a picnic on one of the grassy parts."

"Ok…"

"Anyways, the kids were small, about the age that they were when we took them and we laid out a red checkered picnic blanket and each one sat in a corner on the blanket and we were in the middle of the blanket with our backs to each other, facing the children. The dream started off normal. We were…were laughing and enjoying the day. Then Meredith stood up and clutched her stomach as if she was going to throw up. She smiled at me and kissed my cheek then said, "I've got to go and save my baby." And then she disappeared."

"Well she did go into labor last time you were awake." Thatcher explained and Susan nodded.

"I know but it…get's weirder. George stood up next and he was in a tux. He looked so cute, but he said to me, "Bye Mommy. Izzy's making my favorite tonight" and then he too disappeared."

"Huh…interesting. What happened next?"

"Well, Lexie stood up and little Lynn raced by. She watched Lynn run with a scared expression, looked back at me and said, "I gotta go and catch her before she gets into something." And she raced after her and was gone."

"Which leaves Molly."

"Yes. Molly sat and watched us for a moment, almost like she was studying us, afraid to leave. Then she handed me an invitation to the opening of her restaurant and Owen appeared behind her." Susan looked off picturing what she had seen in her dream. "She smiled and waved before she raced to his side and then she too vanished."

"What happened to me?" He said with a smile, but she frowned at him.

"Nothing. You stayed on the blanket and I was the one who stood up and left you."

"Without saying anything?"

"You told me it was ok. You'd be fine by yourself but you're face showed that you were lying. I was afraid to leave you. It was like everything in my life had fixed itself and there was one thing that I had to make sure…well one thing that I had to fix."

"Me." He said plainly and she nodded her head. "Babe, I'm fine."

"But how do I know that?"

"Because I'm telling you so." Tears appeared in his eyes.

"Promise me that you won't be sad for too long. Promise me that you'll move on."

"There's no one compared to you."

"Just promise me." She said closing her eyes, fighting the pain.

"I promise." He said with a sigh and let the tears fall.

"I love you." She whispered as her eyes closed.

"I love you too."

------

"Here she is." The doctor said, passing Meredith a tiny pink bundle.

"Everything's ok with her?" Derek asked as he looked over Meredith's shoulder.

"She's a bit smaller than what we would like, but that's only because she's a bit early. Other than her weight she's perfectly fine." Meredith sighed with relief and Derek kissed her head. She looked down at the tiny person in her arms and felt tears for what seemed like the 100th time that day. The baby stared up at her with blue eyes and her tiny hand reached out, as if she was trying to grab something. Meredith touched the baby's hand with her finger and the baby grabbed on to it. She pulled Meredith's hand to her and closed her eyes, which made Meredith smile.

"She's beautiful." Derek said.

"We did good." Meredith joked, smiling up at him.

"Knock, knock." Came a voice from the door. Meredith looked up and watched her family file in. Each one of her siblings had bright red eyes and small smiles. And each one avoided eye contact.

"A Girl!" Lexie squealed happily.

"How is mom?" Meredith asked her, but she didn't answer.

"Oh she's gorgeous. What are you naming her?" Molly asked.

"Guys, please!" Meredith begged. She met George's eye and knew. He sighed and rubbed his face.

"Oh no." Meredith brought a hand to her face and sobbed. She felt someone take the baby from her arms and then two strong arms wrap around her and pull her close to his chest. She sobbed into the soft green fabric and when she inhaled she got a whiff of pipe tobacco. She looked up and her father stared down at her studying her face.

"Oh dad!" Meredith sobbed again. She heard a sniffle from Lexie.

"Hush now. It's ok. At least she's not in any more pain."

"But she's not here either." Meredith said, feeling like a child.

"You wouldn't want her to be her if it meant that she was in constant pain would you?" Meredith sighed and shook her head. He brushed back her hair and wiped away her tears.

"No more crying honey." He said, but all Meredith wanted to do was cry. She felt like she had a huge rock lodged in her chest and crying was the only way to get rid of it.

"How…how was she?" Meredith asked.

"She was…" Thatcher thought about this for a moment." She was comfortable but tired."

"She never woke up after you left." Molly said and Meredith sighed.

"She was ready Meredith." Thatcher said.

"But we weren't!" He inhaled deeply and studied his oldest daughter.

"But that's the thing with death. The loved ones, never truly prepare themselves for life without that person. But you're mother wouldn't want us to mourn and be sad on the birthday of her grand daughter." He said with a small smile and looked towards Derek who was holding the baby. "What's her name anyways?"

"Marie Rose Shepard." Derek said.

"You used Mom's middle name!" Molly said fresh tears in her eyes.

"We were going to name her Susan Marie." Derek explained.

"But then we thought that it would be better if we gave her, her own name, something that she could make for herself. Because if we called her Susan we would always think of Mom. This way we can think of mom, yet she'll still be the only Marie. You know?"

"Marie Shepard. I love it." Lexie said.

"It's perfect." Thatcher said with a smile.


	18. Pieces

"What is this about George?" Meredith asked as George opened the door to the attic.

"Yea is this going to take long? I have to check on the Christmas turkey." Molly said with a sigh. Normally Susan would cook the turkey but this year, just a short month since her passing, Molly decided to take up the position.

"Mom asked me to do this back when Jonny was born." George said and everyone went quiet.

"Well let's do it then, whatever it is." Lexie said and George flicked on the lights in the attic. He headed towards the big brown trunk that Susan had described to him. He pulled the old key out of his pocket and unlocked the trunk. Each of his sisters crowded around him and held their breath. He slowly opened the lid and little flakes of dust went into the air around them.

Inside the trunk were four beautifully decorated shoe boxes, each one a different colour with their names spelt out in sparkling letters. The 4 siblings huddled around the trunk and picked out the box with their names on it. They looked at each other before they opened their box.

Meredith felt tears fill her eyes as she saw a picture of her and her mother; their very first picture together. Then there were pictures of her as a toddler and then pictures with Molly, then Lexie and David and then George. The box was full of her entire childhood and some of her adult life in one box. When she reached the bottom of the box there was a white envelope. Meredith lifted it out and inside was 4 copies of a picture of the 4 of them as kids on a camping trip they had taken, when Meredith was 13.

"Oh." Molly said shocked. They all looked at her and she started bawling. "Mom gave me her old cookbook." She said with a sad smile. "And all of her "famous" recipes."

"Is that what was in your box?" Lexie asked and Molly nodded her head.

"I got all the pictures of us as babies and then growing up." Meredith said, leafing through the photos again.

"Probably because you've always loved looking at pictures." Lexie said with a smile.

"What'd you get Lex?" George asked.

"I…I got Mom's jewelry." She said and they all laughed.

"I should've guessed." Molly said.

"Remember how many times she got in trouble for touching mom's stuff, especially the necklaces?" Meredith asked Molly and she chuckled. Then a painful silence fell as they thought about there mother.

Eventually George coughed, breaking the silence and said, "I got…letters in my box." They all looked at him curiously.

"Letters?" Lexie asked.

"Letters written to you?" Meredith asked.

"No."

"Why would she give you random letters?" Molly thought out loud.

"Well, there not exactly random." His sisters looked at him confused and he sighed. "There letters to…David." They stared back at him with complete shock and uncertainty.

"Letters to…"

"Wh-Why?"

"Why would she give them to you?"  
"It's hard to explain." He said/

"It's because George was like Mom's…second chance, you know? She lost her first son and so she would do everything different with the second."

"What?" Meredith asked clearly confused.

"I was…well a part of me, to her, was David. She would look at me and think of what David would be like and how they would get along just as well as Mom and I did. She told me that sometimes she would have to remind herself that I was my own person and not David." George said with a shrug.

"That's…weird." Molly said.

"Didn't that bother you?" Meredith asked.

"Of course." He shrugged again. "I guess she gave me the letters to help me understand how she felt, or the connection a little bit better." They all fell silence and thought about this.

"You know what I just realized?" Lexie asked them.

"What?"

"She gave us each something that was a big part in her life; a big part of who she was." Lexie explained and they all looked down at their boxes.

"Like cooking secrets." Molly said as she closed her box.

"And Fashion and style." Lexie placed the lid on her box.

"Family Moments." Meredith smiled closing her box.

"And Memories." George said placing his hands on top of his closed box. He traced his name with his fingers and thought of his mother. She had glued these letters on herself once.

"Uh, Mol?" Derek appeared at the steps. "The turkey's done." He looked anxiously around the room, giving Meredith a look asking if she's ok, to which she replied with a nod.

"Ok I'm coming." She smiled at her siblings. "What do we do now?" She asked and they all looked at each other, each one thinking the same thing. One by one they placed their shoeboxes back into the trunk.

"Better to keep her in all together than in pieces." Meredith said and George closed the trunk.

"Come on. It's time to eat." Lexie said, linking arms with Meredith.

"I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse." George said causing his sisters to shake their heads and chuckle. He turned off the light before he headed down the stairs. He turned around one last time and looked at the trunk, smiled and then followed his sisters out of the attic, closing the door behind him.


End file.
